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UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 


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I 


ABADDON'S 

STEAM  ENGINE,  CALUMNY, 


DELINEATED : 


IEIXG  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  STOP  ITS  DELETERIOUS  RESULTS 


ON  SOCIETY,  THE  CHURCH,  AND  STATE, 


Called  Bitterness,  Eph.  iv.  31.  Compared  bv  Adam  Clarke,  L.L.D.  to 
HIE  It  A  PICK  A,  or  The  Hoi  a  Bitter. 


A  Medicine  of  the  last  century,  compounded  of  a  variety  of  Drastic, 

Acrid  Drug's,  and  Ardent  Spirits:  administered  in  a  great 

variety  of  cases,  which  produced  immense  evil. 


TO  WHICH  IS  SUBJOINED, 

THE  INFERNAL  TRIUMVIRATE  : 

OPPRESSION,  DEPRESSION,  AND  EXTORTION. 

"  Troy  soon  shall  wake,  with  one  avenging*  blow 
"  Crush  the  dire  author  of  its  country's  woe." 

O  thou  man  of  God,  there  is  death  in  the  pot.  2d  Kmg&i  iv.  40. 
He  that  uttereth  slander  is  a  fool.    Prov.  x.  18.  It  is  the  glory 

of  God  to  conceal  a  thing-.  Prov.  xxv.  2.         Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and 

;  as  a  tale-bearer.  Lev.  xix.  16.  (ox  Pedler,  in  the  Hebrew ,■  that  is 

10  say,  The  Devil's  Pedler. 


BY  A  LOVER  OF  MERCY  REJOICING  OVER  JUDGMENT. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED  TOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE  PURCHASER. 

J.  H.  Cunningham,  Printer. 


TO  THE  HEADER, 

THE  merciless  breakers  of  bruised  reeds,  who 
outknave  the  Priest  and  the  Levite,  in  the  Gospel , 
by  not  only  passing  the  unfortunates,  but  also  by 
giving  them  a  louring  glance,  a  bad  name,  or  a 
kick,  are  humbly  requested  to  apply  at  his  Satanic 
Majesty's  Council  Chamber  for  a  license  to  inform 
against  Swindlers,  Drunkards,  and  other  criminals, 
contrary  to  Law  and  Gospel,  as  we  are  determined 
to  stretch  the  string  of  charity,  rather  than  act  upon 
presumptive,  circumstancial  evidence,  or  exparte 
testimony.  "  The  voice  of  the  country  has  deci- 
ded, irrevocably,  in  the  condemnation  of  CAU- 
CUSES— that  scheme  of  concealed  intrigue  and 
corruption  has  been  unfolded,  and  called  forth  the 
execration  of  all  men  who  feel  a  reverence  for  the 
principles  of  the  revolution."  We  contend  against 
the  Hydra-headed  monster,  Slander,  in  this  book, 
by  law  and  testimony,  reason  and  revelation,  be- 
seeching the  people  and  the  elders,  to  enact  simple 
and  distinct  statutes,  defined  and  limited,  under  the 
purview  of  which,  the  court  and  jury  may  find  the 
slandering  felon  guilty. 

To  restrain  slander,  and  prevent  our  civil  and 
religious  rights  from  being  prejudiced,  and  taken 
away  by  tyranny,  u  Experience  had  taught  the 
founders  of  our  government,  that  freedom  had 


4 

been  destroyed  through  the  want  of  adequate 
checks  upon  men  of  ambitious  or  desperate  de- 
sires ;  hence,  in  modern  times,  the  maxim  has 
been  universally  recognized  by  the  friends  of  hu- 
man liberty,  that  governments  should  be  founded 
and  written  in  well  digested  forms,  and  not  expo- 
sed to  the  caprice  or  passions  of  men."  To  this 
luminous  extract,  we  shall  only  add,  a  government 
of  Scripture,  and  not  of  Priests  or  Levites.  There- 
fore, to  the  law  and  the  testimony  we  go  ;  if  they 
speik  not  according  to  this,  from  the  cottage  to  the 
id  the  throne,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
them  :  A  part  of  which  law  is,  Love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself — Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  ;  for  this 
(and  not  lawless  slander)  is  fthe  sum  of)  the  law 
and  the  Prophets*  Matt,  vii.  12. 


PREFACE. 

MEN  of  Israel,  help  by  all  your  energies, 
plunge  the  bucket  of  faith  into  the  perennial,  heal- 
ing, inexhaustible  river  of  life  and  love,  which  runs 
through  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,  and,  in 
united  phalanx,  pour  forth  into  the  fire  engine  of 
Christian  charity,  the  unceasing  supply  ;  work  with 
faithful  hearts,  peaceable,  stedfast,  yielding,  and 
persevering  hands,  until,  by  keeping  down  the  fire 
of  hell,  which  works  the  large  boiler  of  the  devil's 
steam-boat,  Slander;  the  hot  burning  atmosphere 
of  defamation  shall  become  more  dense,  the  ma- 
chinery loose  its  propelling  power,  the  buckets  of 
clattering  backbiting,  cease  to  disturb  and  poison 
the  waters  of  social  happiness,  and  Lucifer's  ped- 
lers  no  longer  scald,  nor  be  scalded  by  the  high- 
rectified  steam  which  bursts  forth  from  his  original 
manufacturing  conclave  iri  hell,  which  has,  here- 
tofore,  and,  until  now,  been  productive  of  a  world 
of  iniquity. 

Our  object  is  to  dissect  the  hypocritical  defa- 
mer,  who  covers  malice  with  the  silver  dross  of 
pretended  necessity,  ambition  by  the  guise  of  strict 
severity,  while  many  maintain  a  holy,  stiff,  frigid 
distance,  to  keep  up  self-conceited  sanctiiication, 
under  the  whining  fear  of  injuring  men  who  are 
better,  politer,  and  wiser  than  themselves,  bv  ho- 

a  2 


nest  familiarity.  We  hope  to  make  manifest,  that 
an  Hiera  Pier  a  bitterness,  that  is  to  say,  an  holy 
bitterness,  { for  that  acrid,  drastic  drug,  Hiera  Picra, 
means  holy  bitter  ;)  is  not  the  wisdom  from  above, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  bilge  water  of  com-* 
mercial  malignity,  the  regurgitating  bile  of  Abad- 
don's implacable  gall-bladder. 

Let  none  attempt  to  pass  under  the  guns  of 
mount  Zion  with  impunity,  by  virtue  of  having 
the  colours  of  Jesus  Christ  flying,  while  they  carry 
on  a  war  in  disguise  against  the  royal  law  of  love, 
and  a  smuggling  trade  with  the  church  of  the  ma- 
lignants,  under  a  secret  license  from  the  devil,  with 
the  poor  pitiful  apologies  that  their  fathers  were 
plain  spoken  men,  and  to  punish  the  wicked,  when 
the  truth  of  the  mattei  is,  that  we  can  prove  them 
to  be  of  their  father,  the  devil,  while  they  seem  to 
be  religious,  but  bridle  not  their  tongues,  nor  libel- 
ing pens. 

We  shall  also  take  notice  of  the  cases  of  many 
who,  very  politely,  very  religiously,  and  very  like 
a  fox,  compliment  you,  advise  you,  pray  for,  and 
slander  you,  with  a  "  Lord  pity  him,  he  is  the  worst 
foe  to  himself,"  with  a  hypocritical  smile  and 
stab,  professing  that  they  always  put  their  friends 
upon  their  guard  against  horse  stealers,  swindlers, 
pickpockets,  drunkards,  house  burners  and  break- 
ers ;  when,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  men- steal- 
ers, character  filchers,  backbiting  pickthanks  for 
slandering  pickpockets ;  are  murderers  of  more 
bodies  and  souls  than  all  the  Csesars  and  other 
butchers  in  the  universe,  both  civil  and  religious. 
Millions  of  psalm-singing,  doggerel,  canting  puff- 
balls,  who  deny  that  it  is  slander  to  circulate  the 
crimes  of  individuals,  while  they  ball  out,  "  I  tell 
nothing  but  the  truth,"  will  find  their  cases  attend- 


ed  to,  and  their  slanderous  truths  proved  to  be 
far  from  God's  truth  as  the  declaration  of  a  drunken 
man  is  from  republicanism,  when  he  boasts  that 
he  is  for  equal  liberty,  and  gives  no  further  proof 
of  it  than  that  of  throwing  up  strong  whigs  in  spue 
and  vomit,  and  treading  in  the  dust  the  rights  of 
man. 

Thousands  of  cowardly,  raspish  roarers,  and 
cacklers,  profess  to  be  so  innocent  of  what  they  say 
against  the  absent,  that  you  never  can  fathom  their 
hearts  until,  upon  approaching  their  slandering 
mansions,  you  hear  them  kaw  like  crows,  l<  there 
she  comes"  when,  upon  the  signal,  they  all  fly  off, 
as  those  carnivorous  fowls,  to  their  respective  hid- 
ing places.     This  also  shall  be  delineated. 

Hecatombs  upon  Hecatombs,  of  Luciferian 
trading  companies,  accompanied  by  their  officers, 
and  distributing  post  officers,  pedlers,  smugglers, 
and  post-riders,  in  and  out  of  the  churches,  are  es- 
tablishing, as  far  as  their  influence  can  have  effect, 
the  detestable  doctrine  of  exparte  evidence,  that  is, 
hearing  one  side  only,  which  opposes  the  first  rule 
of  legal  evidence,  that  "  It  is  a  settled  rule  of  law, 
that  no  evidence  is  to  be  given  against  a  prisoner 
but  in  his  presence.''  2  Hawk.  p.  c.  ca.  46, 
which  axiom  of  law  is  founded  on  this  principle, 
namely,  "  That  the  opposite  partv  is  not  present 
to  have  the  benefit  of  a  cross  examination."  5 
Mod.  165,  M'Nally  upon  Evidence,  p.  10. 

And  although  the  sixth  rule  of  evidence  is,  that 
"  one  who  can  only  witness  by  hearsay,  is  not  a 
lawful  accuser  within  any  statute."  2  Hawk.  p. 
c.  ca.  25.  And,  that  the  abominable  and  illegal 
doctrine,  or,  as  sir  Edward  Coke  terms  it,  the 
strange  conceit,  that  one  may  be  an  accuser  by 
hearsay,  was  utterly  denied  by  the  justices  in  Lord 


8 

Lumley's  case,  Hill,  14.  Eliz.  3.  co.  15,  M'Nally 
upon  Evidence,  p.  17.  Although,  we  repeat,  the 
above  is  the  language  of  justice,  yet  despots,  not 
having  God  before  their  eyes,  act  by  virtue  of  de- 
cisions and  commissions  issued  from  Appollyon's 
four  courts  of  calumny  ;  this  also  shall  be  consi- 
dered. 

We  read  in  Peake  upon  Evidence,  p.  15,  "  The 
law  never  gives  credit  to  any  one,  however  high 
his  rank,  or  pure  his  morals,  but  always  requires 
the  sanction  of  an  oath."  Yet  millions  believe, 
judge,  and  sentence  millions  to  tortures,  imprison- 
ments, confiscations,  banishments,  and  death  it- 
self. Yea,  alas  !  tell  it  not  in  Gath  :  we  have  done 
something  like  it,  even  at  the  horns  of  the  altar  ! 
These  things  shall  be  noticed. 

"  A  pardoned  man  is  not  guilty  ;  his  crime  is 
purged  ;  but  merely  for  the  reproach  of  it,  it  shall 
not  be  put  upon  him  to  answer  a  question  whereon 
he  will  not  be  forced  to  disgrace  himself."  Lord 
C.  Justice  Treby.  Peake.  141.  Yet,  nevertheless, 
we,  whose  mercy  is  called  upon  to  glory  over  jus- 
tice, work  old  Satan's  cunning,  question-asking 
pump,  as  though  the  spiritual  ark  was  sinking  for 
want  of  it.     This,  also,  should  be  touched  upon. 

"  It  frequently  happens  that  persons  are  made 
defendants  with  others,  for  the  mere  purpose  of 
excluding  their  testimony."  Peake,  159.  It  also 
has  been  often  practised  in  Asia,  Africa,  JEurope, 
and  America,  in  the  churches  and  courts  where 
such  cunning  usurpations  should  not  be  suffered. 

"  In  an  information  against  the  wife  for  adulte- 
ry, the  husband  cannot  be  a  witness."  State  vs. 
Gardner,  1.  Root,  435.        % 

"  The  rule  of  law  does  not  merely  prevent  a 
husband  or  wife  from  giving  evidence,  for  the 


purpose  of  criminating  each  other ;  it  goes  much 
further,  and  precludes  any  evidence  which  has  the 
least  tendency  to  it."  Lord  Justice  Hardwich 
said,  "  The  reason  why  the  law  will  not  suffer  the 
wife  to  be  a  witness  for  or  against  her  husband  is, 
to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  families,  and,  there- 
fore, I  shall  never  encourage  such  a  consent.'' 
Peake,  p.  179,  180.  How  contrary  to  this  pru- 
dent, scriptural,  and  legal  doctrine,  has  been  the 
current  coin  of  thousands,  even  in  the  bosom  of 
the  sanctuary,  we  leave  to  the  judgment  of  the  tru- 
ly prudent  and  experienced.  O  !  what  villainies 
go  down  under  the  garb  of  power  ! 

Partial  or  interested  sheriffs  are  not  competent  to 
empannel  a  jury  :  yet  thousands  of  the  clergy,  in 
ancient  and  modern  times,  have  produced,  and 
still  re-produce  multifarious  oppression,  by  such 
illegal,  partial  conduct,  to  the  great  scandal  of  re- 
ligion. Witnesses  are  not  allowed  to  be  compe- 
tent who  are  propter  delictum,  that  is,  guilty  of 
certain  crimes;  still,  however,  any  ruffian,  will 
serve  the  turn  of  an  open-mouthed,  hard-hearted, 
humped-up  railer,  with  a  beam  in  his  eye  !  Jurors 
must  not  be  propter  defectum,  defective  in  under- 
standing ;  yet  weak  heads  and  narrow  hearts  often 
serve  the  turn  of  ambitious  judges  better  than  long 
heads  or  strong  heads.  Jurors  are  not  allowed  to 
be  propter  affectum,  that  is,  given  to  bias  or  par- 
tiality  ;  nevertheless,  those  are  always  the  choice 
of  the  judges  who  form  the  devil's  council  cham- 
ber of  injustice,  conclave,  and  exparte  defamation. 
Jurors  must  be  omni  exceptione  majoTes ;  that  is 
to  say,  above  or  beyond  all  exception. 

This  is  what  we  ought  to  aim  at,  namely,  to  lay 
aside  partiality  and  tyranny.  If  a  juror  mentions 
anv  thins:  against  the  accused,  which  was  not  said 


10 

ill  open  court,  it  vitiates  and  destroys  the  verdict ; 
yet  thousands  of  sacerdotal  conclaves  in  caucuses, 
throughout  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  have  al- 
lowed the  introduction  of  such  private  villainies, 
without  even  admitting  the  person  accused  to  have 
any  hand  in  the  oppressive  ecclesiastical  laws,  un- 
der the  purview  of  which  they  were  to  have  their 
civil  and  religious  rights  administered,  prejudiced, 
and  taken  away,  or  even  to  appear,  as  did  the  hea- 
then Romans,  by  impartial  impleadings  face  to 
face.  This  is  lording  it  over  God's  heritage  with 
a  witness,  with  no  better  satisfaction,  check,  or  re- 
muneration, than  the  inflammatory  haughty  answer, 
that  "  we  are  sent  of  God  to  rule  over  you."  Upon 
this  point  the  church  has  been  much  harrassed ; 
we  do  not  pretend,  in  the  present  work,  to  enter 
upon  what  is  too  heavy  for  us,  we  mean  church 
government ;  but  just  to  give  some  hints  to  those 
whom  Paul  calls  novices,  that  is,  "  young  plants," 
"puffed  up"  like  bladders,  "  puff  balls." 

Although  not  learned,  we  may  receive  help  to 
the  meaning  of  the  word  Slander,  in  two  or  three 
languages ;  shewing  in  association  some  law  au- 
thorities. With  diffidence  we  object  to  the  pre- 
sent mode  of  punishing  slanderers,  and  would  re- 
commend statute  law  well  defined  by  the  legisla- 
ture; that  when  the  slanderer  of  malice  and  felony 
committed  evils  as  great  as  other  murderers  and 
thieves;  he  should,  when  it  was  legally  proved 
upon  him,  suffer  equal  punishment  ;  still  leaving 
it  with  the  jury  under  the  direction  of  the  court  to 
find  guilty,  according  to  the  intention  of  the  legis- 
lature. We  therefore  have  drawn  up  a  number  of 
indictments,  as  though  such  laws  were  actually  in 
force  ;  the  objections  to  such  statutes,  from  the  dif- 
ficulty of  the  mode  of  proof,  and  the  number  of 


11 

guilty  persons,  should  be  no  objection  to  such  acts  ; 
for,  in  the  first  place,  the  law  in  Virginia  of  1810, 
to  punish  whoever  had  a  slandering  hand  in  a  duel, 
had  a  happy  and  immediate  effect,  to  break  up  the 
fire  and  brimstone  consequences  of  those  vallainies; 
and  secondly,  the  longer  the  legislature  put  off  pun- 
ishing the  slandering  thief  and  murderer,  the  more 
will  the  iniquity  increase  in  the  community,  until, 
as  in  the  reign  of  Antoninus  Pius  and  Commodus, 
the  malicious  state  informer  or  prosecutor  is  severe- 
ly punished,  even  with  death,  one  of  whom  had  his 
legs  broken  by  Perennius,  in  the  reign  of  Commo- 
dus, for  informing  against  that  great  philosophical 
christian,  Apollonius. 

You  ask  why  we  harp  so  much  upon  one  string  ? 
We  answer,  because  all  men  are  set  as  spies  up- 
on each  other ;  because  the  preachers  have  harped 
upon  the  other  strings  till  they  have  made  the  slan- 
dering s'ring  too  strong  for  the  rest ;  because  pop- 
ulation languishes  under  slander;  because  the  states 
and  the  churches  are  poisoned  therewith  ;  the  winds 
putrescent  thereby  ;  fatherless,  widows,  slaves,  or- 
phans, and  strangers,  with  mechanics,  merchants, 
sailors,  farmers,  and  preachers,  are  ruined  by  it : 
officers  upon  sea  and  land  are  broke  and  kept  back 
from  promotion  by  its  fangs  ;  and  men  in  power 
belied  by  the  envious,  ambitious,  and  avaricious  ; 
because  St.  James  wrote  almost  all  his  epistle 
against  it ;  Moses  and  the  prophets,  Jesus  Christ 
and  the  apostles  called  it  stealing,  foolishness,  hy- 
pocrisy, lies,  murder,  and  a  world  of  iniquity  ! 

Why  does  a  citizen  run  with  a  bucket  ?  A 
house,  a  city  is  on  fire ;  and  shall  we  stand  all  the 
day  idle,  and  see  this  Canaan  turned  into  an  acel- 
dema,  a  field  of  blood,  of  fire,  the  fire  of  hell,  and 
not  run  with  our  buckets  of  law  and  Gospel? 


12 

Let  us  form  the  line,  and  pass  the  water  of  Chris- 
tian faith,  love,  meekness,  gentleness,  and  unwea- 
ried diligence,  until  the  fire  engine  of  charity,  fed 
from  the  water  of  life,  shall  have  extinguished  the 
electric  daemon,  slander,  and  thrown  his  infernal  ri- 
der, the  complicated  steam  boat  of  political,  mecha- 
nical, mercantile,  incontinent,  sensual,  and  all  reli- 
gious illicit  smuggling,  trading,  and  pedling,  into 
the  shoreless,  bottomless  sea  of  the  love  of  God 
and  man  ;  so  shall  there  be  a  great  calm. 


13 


Commonwealth  of  'Israel,  to  xvit  : 

The  law  and  the  testimony,  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  Messiah  and  the  apostles,  do  present  ibr 
Jehovah,  the  King,  the  Lord  ol  Hosts,  that,  where- 
as, hard-hearted  malignant,  envious  invidious,  co- 
vetous lovemoney,  ambitious  terrorum,  vain  dou- 
ble-tongue, hypocritical  beam  eye,  young  inflated 
novice,  worrying  Lord  over  God's  heritage  ;  with 
a  troop  of  church  gossippers  and  state  lickplates, 
of  the  church  of  the  malignants,  all  being  devil's 
pedlers  and  postriders  in  the  circulation  of  slander, 
not  having"  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  but 
being  moved  and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the 
devii,  at  every  favorable  opportunity,  in  the  reign 
of  the  King,  whose  name  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
King,  defender  of  the  faith  that  works  by  love,  and 
plays  no  slandering  slight  of  hand  ;  in  this  reign, 
we  repeat,  in  the  parish  of  political  shuffling,  and 
religious  scuffling,  and  in  all  the  wards  and  ward- 
robes of  whispering,  backbiting,  and  hating  of  God, 
as  aforesaid,  and  with  force  of  arms,  of  railing  and 
controversial  preaching,  in  the  places  aforesaid,  fe- 
loniously, and  of  their  aforethought  malice,  in  and 
upon  sincere  lover,  one  flesh,  husband  and  wife, 
disappointed,  broken  heart,  sinking  Peter,  rising 
Corinthian,  weeping  and  returning  prodigal,  for- 
given  David,  sobbing  and  grateful  Magdalene, 
then  and  there,  in  the  peace  ot  God,  and  of  the 
said  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  only  lawful  King  then  be- 
ing, made  an  assault,  and  slandering  church  af- 
fray, and  the  aforesaid  novices,  lords,  whifkrs, 
groaners,  controversial  priests,  hard-hearted  Le- 
vites,  bruisers  of  broken  reeds,  whisperers,  state 
and  church  receivers,  tea,  wine,  grog,  snuffing  and 
smoking  slanderers,  double-tongued,   high-eyed, 

B 


14 

tossing-nosed  railers,  a  certain  hell-fire  machine, 
called  the  Leviathan  calumny,  with  two  hundred 
millions  of  propelling  steam  boats,  puffiing  and 
bursting  with  double  rectified  secrets,  which  load 
the  weeping,  groaning,  bleeding  zephyrs,  and  pu- 
trescent winds,  producing  vipers,  firebrands,  ar- 
rows, and  death,  which  they  held  in  their  right 
hands  then,  there,  and  every  where,  in  and  upon 
the  aforesaid  strangers,  fatherless,  widows,  slaves, 
free  colored  people,  preachers,  men  on  trial,  then 
and  there  feloniously,  voluntarily,  and  of  their  ma- 
lice aforethought,  did  shoot  off  and  discharge  ;  and 
the  aforesaid  slanderers,  with  the  destructive  hell- 
fire  defamations  aforesaid,  from  the  whispering 
railing  guns,  aforesaid,  then  and  there  shot  off  and 
discharged  the  aforesaid  peepers,  watchers,  novices, 
puffers,  raisers,  receivers,  and  publishers,  in  and 
upon  the  left  part  of  the  breast  and  soul  of  them, 
the  said  orphans,  widows,  fatherless,  preachers, 
strangers,  broken  and  broken  hearted  lovers,  mer- 
chants, and  returning  prodigals,  then  and  there  fe- 
loniously struck,  giving  to  the  said  returners,  bro- 
ken hearted,  strangers,  bound  boys  and  girls, 
preachers,  slaves,  unfortunate  boys  and  girls,  bro- 
ken hearted  husbands  and  wives,  then  and  there 
with  the  leaden  bullets  of  whispering  aforesaid, 
out  of  the  reviling  guns  aforesaid,  then  and  there 
shot  off  and  discharged  in  and  upon  the  left  part  of 
the  breast  of  them,  the  said  Mary,  doubting  Tho- 
mas, restored  David,  Peter,  and  the  Corinthian, 
ten  thousand  mortal  wounds  of  the  breadth  of  pro- 
perty, character,  happiness,  and  appetite,  and  the 
length  of  life  and  eternal  damnation,  of  which  mor- 
tal wounds  inflicted  by  the  aforesaid  novices,  can- 
ters, puff  bails,  drunken  railers,  religious  gossip- 
pers,  church  Receivers,  revengeful  backbiters,  and 


15 

seven-times  Peters ;  the  aforesaid  good,  bad,  and 
indifferent  sufferers  slowly,  instantly,  and  eternally 
died;  And  that  Poll  Plot,  Bill  Blot,  Sail  Saucy- 
face,  Prating  Partnership,  Psalmsinging  Longface, 
Parson  Pumpall,  prying  peeper,  white-eyed  watch- 
er, leader  lackey  boy,  widow  wildjaw,  riggling 
runner,  tea  talkative,  bear-mouthed  burlesque, 
lick  plate  liar,  and  trumpeter  telltale,  feloniously  and 
of  their  malice  aforethought,  then  and  there  were 
present,  aiding;  assisting,  abetting,  comforting,  and 
maintaining  the  aforesaid  punners,  praters,  winkers, 
raisers,  libellers,  novices,  slowjawed  slanderers, 
Diotrephes's,  lion  faced  lord's  over  God's  heritage, 
altar-scraping  asses,  light  tongued  lasses,  and  far- 
rago fulminators,  to  the  felony  and  murderers  afore- 
said, in  form  aforesaid,  to  be  done  and  committed  ; 
and  so  the  aforesaid  iterating  and  reiterating  slan- 
derers, the  aforesaid  slighted  stranger,  weeping 
widow,  blackened  backslider,  returning  and  zea- 
lous Peter,  poor  prodigal,  and  weeping  Mary  afore- 
said, in  the  parish  of  cup  evidence,  and  wards  of 
church  conclave  causes,  bar  browbeat,  coquette  in- 
grate,  pulpit  inflate,  and  slowjawed  long  hate  afore- 
said, in  manner  and  form  aforesaid,  feloniously,  vo- 
luntarily, and  of  their  forethought  malice,  slighted, 
slandered,  received  slanders  against,  robbed,  mur- 
dered, and  brought  to  damnation,  the  name,  fame, 
appetite,  happiness,  peace,  property,  reason,  imagi-. 
nation,  memory,  judgment,  life  and  soul  of  the 
aforesaid  innocents,  penitents,  Mary's,  Peter's, 
strangers,  &c.  against  the  peace  of  these  United 
States,  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  the  peace  of 
the  Lord  God,  gracious  and  merciful,  the  alpha 
and  omega,  his  crown  and  dignity.  And  that  one 
cholera  morbus  blackvomit,  bruise-reed  butcher, 
browbeating   bigot,   twittering  fidget,  jabbering 


16 

jackall,  despotic  dryjaw,  ever  dropping  long  ear, 
judge  watch  mote,  idle  informer,  search  warrant 
blood  hound,  rough  and  smooth  receive  all ;  with 
a  covey  of  political  roarers,  goarers,  tearers,  swear- 
ers and  kidnappers,  accompanied  by  a  cloud  of 
punners,  runners,  peepers,  railers  and  retailers,  late 
of  the  parish  of  church  gossipping,  bar,  statehouse, 
political  calumniating  coxcombs,  naval  and  mili- 
tary supplanting,  in  the  county  of  licensed  bespat- 
tering of  infamous  memory,  not  having  God  be- 
fore their  eyes,  but  being  seduced  by  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  devil  before  the  felonies  and  murders, 
aforesaid,  by  the  aforesaid  envious,  malicious, 
talkative,  twitterers,  long  ears,  sharp  eyes,  tossing 
nosed,  tea,  grog,  coffee,  and  wine  bibbers,  dogge- 
rel canters,  whifflers,  brawlers,  blating  goats,  and 
braying  asses,  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid,  done 
and  committed,  that  is  to  say,  on  every  interesting 
opportunity,  in  the  reign  of  the  Lord  our  righte- 
ousness, the  only  King  acknowledged  by  these 
United  States,  King,  defender  of  the  injured,  the 
helpless,  stranger,  slave,  fatherless,  widow,  orphan, 
bound  boy  and  girl,  &c.  The  aforesaid  backbit- 
ers, receivers,  publishers,  unjust  condemners,  and 
quivering  cacklers,  at  the  aforesaid  parish  of  cup 
evidence,  bar  browbeat,  and  pulpit  slander,  in  a 
world  of  iniquity,  as  aforesaid,  and  in  the  county  of 
•laughing,  twisting,  grinning,  whispering,  and  ask- 
ing Foxite  questions,  in  conclaves,  by  outknaves, 
whip  slaves,  jobbers,  winkers,  tipplers,  gluttons, 
sycophants,  church  and  state  bloodhounds  as  afore- 
said, to  the  felonies  and  murders  aforesaid,  in  man- 
ner and  in  form  aforesaid,  to  be  done  and  commit- 
ted maliciously,  feloniously,  voluntarily,  and  of 
their  forethought  malice,  did  incite,  move,  abet, 
counsel,  and  procure  against  the  peace  of  families, 


17 

strangers,  and  helpless  in  state  and  church,  and  of 
the  Lord  God,  gracious  and  merciful,  who  was,  is, 
and  is  to  come,  his  crown  and  dignity.  And  that 
political  mitigate  fine,  Diotrephes  Divine,  Part- 
nership Pompous,  Bishop  Bigthought,  Deacon 
Dreadnaught,  Elder  Redhot,  conclave  inquisition, 
civilian  caval,  flinthearted  steel  tongue,  and  bell 
clatter  ding  dong,  including  a  long  grilling,  grunt- 
ing, hemming,  canting,  covetous  train  of  insidious 
vulpine  flatterers,  late  of  the  parish  of  Political 
supplanting,  and  in  the  county  of  Gospel  gossip- 
ping,  all  being  hypocritical  slanderers  and  devil's 
pedlers,  well  knowing  the  said  offenders  to  have 
done  and  committed  the  said  felonies,  in  manner 
and  form  aforesaid,  afterwards,  to  wit,  on  every 
advantageous  opportunity  towards  the  four  winds 
of  heaven,  and  in  all  places,  in  the  reign  of  the 
Lord  of  Sabbaoth,  the  King  eternal,  immortal,  and 
invisible,  at  the  parish  and  county  of  Gospel  gos- 
sipping  as  aforesaid,  with  slandering  force  and 
backbiting  arms,  did  assist  in  oppressing  them,  the 
said  weeping  and  returning  prodigals,  restored 
backsliders,  oppressed  slaves,  doubting  Thomas's, 
rising  Peters,  poor  hired  girls  and  boys,  bound 
orphans,  true  lovers,  abashed  Ephraims,  swallow- 
ed up  of  over  much  sorrow,  suffering  strangers, 
broken  hearted  widows,  insane  lovers,  sinking 
merchants  and  mechanics,  them  the  aforesaid 
rough  sly  receivers,  condemners,  church  and  state 
officers,  gossippers,  swindlers,  oppressors,  &c. 
did  then  and  there  in  Asia,  Africa,  Europe,  and 
America,  feloniously,  and  of  their  malice  afore- 
thought, receive,  aid,  and  comfort  the  said  slan- 
derers, against  the  peace  of  the  said  Lord  our 
righteousness,  who  was,  is,  and  is  to  come,  his 
crown  and  dign|tv.  .  \ 

b2 


SLANDER. 

The  following  is  from  A.  Clarke,  L.  L.  D.  upon  Daemons. 

"  It  appears  there  is  but  one  DEVIL,  who 
seems  to  be  supreme,  or  head  over  all  the  rest. 
(The  Doctor  then  gives  his  name  in  Greek,  and 
observes  that  it)  signifies  an  accuser,  or  slanderer. 
1  Tim.  3.  11.  2  Tim.  3.  3.  Tit.  2.  3.  Per- 
haps Satan  was  called  so,  1st.  because  he  accused  ox 
slandered  God  in  paradise,  as  averse  from  the  in- 
crease of  man's  knowledge  and  happiness.  Gen. 
3.  John  8.  44.  And  2dly,  because  he  is  the  ac- 
cuser of  men,  Rev.  xii.  9.  10.  See  also  Job  i.  2. 
The  word  comes  from  (Greek)  through,  and  (the 
Greek)  to  cast  or  shoot,  because  of  the  influence 
of  his  evil  suggestions;  compared,  Eph.  vi.  16. 
to  fiery  darts  ;  and  thus  it  is  nearly  of  the  same 
meaning  with  (the  Greek)  he  who  pierces  through:" 

Adam  Clarke,  L.  L.  D.  Just  so,  his  children 
pierce  through. 

The  Low  Dutch  word  laster,  s.  slander,  is  ca- 
lumny, lampoon* 

Lastermond,  or  foul-mouthed. 

Lasteren,  v.  to  slander,  reproach,  defame,  blas- 
pheme. 

Lasterly,  adj.  and  adv.  reproachful,  slanderous. 

Agterklapping,  slandering,  backbiting. 


19 

Agterlrfappen,  v.  to  backbite,  to  slander. 

Aghter Mapper,  backbiter,  talebearer. 

The  Teutonic,  or  ancient  German  word  Ver- 
leumdung,  s.  pronounced  Fcrlimedung,  is  calum- 
ny, slander,  slandering,  backbiting,  detracting, 
detraction,  false  imputation,  malicious  aspersion, 
defamation,  defaming,  decrying,  blemishing,  tra- 
duction, traducing,  obtrectation,  medisance,  French 
for  slander. 

Schaenden,  schmaehen,  or  schmaen,  v.  to  abuse, 
blame,  injure,  detract,  cavil,  defame,  vilify,  revile, 
disgrace,  slander,  vituperate,  that  is  a  blaming  or 
finding  fault,  rebuke,  outrage  one,  put  an  affront, 
abuse,  blame,  injury  or  aspersion  upon  him,  blast 
or  blot  his  credit,  honor,  or  reputation. 

He  that  uttereth  slander  is  a  fool.  Proverbs 
x.  18. 

Verleumder,  or  Fcrlimeder,  a  calumniator,  slan- 
derer, backbiter,  false  accuser,  sycophant,  pick- 
thank,  decryer,  defamer  or  detracter,  lastermaul. 

Verleumderisch,  or  Ferlimederish,  calumnious, 
slanderous,  backbiting,  traducing,  blaming,  slan- 
dering, Verleumdet  or  Ferlimedet,  slandered. 

Verleumden,  v.  or  Ferhmeden,  to  backbite,  slan- 
der, defame,  calumniate,  asperse,  detract,  or  tra- 
duce one,  decry,  wound,  blemish,  asperse,  or  blot 
his  reputation,  speak  evil  of.  him,  cast  an  aspersion 
or  blemish  upon  his  honor. 

Who,  in  his  reason,  does  not  at  first  sight  dis- 
cover how  much  more  original  and  copious  the 
Teutonic  or  ancient  German  is  than  the  English  ? 
And  who  also  dare  deny  that  from  the  above  expla- 
nation from  the  Teutonic,  there  are  slanderous 
trains  as  well  as  slanderous  falsehoods  ? 

We  shall,  in  another  place  in  this  work,  bring  in 
the  French  word  for  slander,  with  some  indisputa- 


20 

ble  law  authorities,  as  we  are  not  only  greatly  in- 
debted to  the  bench,  but  also  to  the  lawyers  in 
general,  for  the  little  legal  information  which  we 
possess  upon  slander. 

Those  who  take  sacerdotal  liberties  to  speak  and 
write  with  religious  and  private  severity  of  others, 
from  the  example  of  prophets,  Jesus,  and  the  apos- 
tles, should  never  forget,  1st.  That  our  duty  is  to 
love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves,  always  asking, 
before  we  expose  a  brother,  how  would  I  like  such 
obloquys  ?  2dly.  Can  we  take  the  same  liberties 
as  Jesus,  who  knew  the  hearts  of  all  men,  and 
knew,  as  did  also  the  apostolic  discerners  of  spi- 
rits, how,  when,  where,  what,  and  to  whom  to 
speak.  3dly.  That  before  St.  Paul  and  the  churches 
gave  up  certain  persons  to  Satan,  or  wrote  warn- 
ing epistles  to  the  incorrigible,  or  rebuked  them 
publicly,  as  some  of  our  modern  would-be-thought 
apostles  ;  they  exercised  the  utmost  extent  of  mer- 
ciful reclaiming,  spoken  of  in  Matt,  xviii.  Luke 
xvii.  Gall.  vi.  and  1  Cor.  xiii.  And  4thly.  That 
Jesus  sent  word  to  backsliding  Peter  of  his  resur- 
rection, in  tfiree  or  four  days  after  his  public  apos- 
tacy,  and  restored  him  to  his  ministry  in  a  few  days 
after,  instead  of  blasting  his  fame,  as  some  of  our 
clerical  lords  do  and  have  clone  ;  and  that  St.  Paul 
wrote  to  restore  the  very  wicked  Corinthian  to  the 
church,  lest  he  should  be  swallowed  up  of  over- 
much sorrow,  as  are  and  have  been  millions  by  ec- 
clesiastical harshness,  slander,  and  oppression, 
which  often  terminates  in  the  civil,  spiritual,  and 
eternal  destruction  of  the  poor  bruised  reeds. 

Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,  that  is 
to  say,  "  Every  man,  as  plainly  appears,  1st.  By 
comparing  this  place  with  verse  34,  where  this  law 
is  applied  to  strangers.     2d.  Because  the  word 


21 

neighbour  is  explained  by  another  man."  Lev.  xx, 
10.  Rom.  xiii.  8.  And  3diy,  because  in  Jer. 
xxxiv.  17,  even  a  slave  is  called  a  brother  and 
neighbour. 

Although  the  Gospel  is  called  The  perfect  law 
of  liberty,  James  i.  25,  and  that  we  only  seem  to 
be  religious  if  we  bridle  not  the  tongue,  ver,  26,  yet 
millions  "  having  quite  lost  the  way  of  nobleness, 
and  climbed  up  to  the  height  of  terribleness." 
Substitute  worryism,  lionism,  and  damnationism, 
under  the  equivocal  pretext  that  religious  liberty 
is  not  altogether  republicanism.  Love  covereth  a 
multitude  of  sins,  1  Pet.  iv.  8.  "  Yea,  love  cover- 
eth all  things.  He  that  loves  another,  covers  his 
faults,  how  many  soever  they  be ;  he  turns  away 
his  eyes  from  them,  and,  as  far  as  is  possible,  hides 
them  from  others." 

Neither  as  lording  over  the  heritage,  1.  Pet.  v. 
3.  "  Behaving  in  a  haughty,  domineering  manner,  • 
as  though  you  rwd  dominion  over  their  conscience. 
The  word  translated  heritage,  is  literally  the  por- 
tions, ver.  5.  elder  or  younger,  subject  to  each 
other.  Let  every  one  be  ready  upon  all  occasions 
to  give  up  his  own  will-"  J.  W.  Yet  in  the  very 
charge  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  lording,  hearsay,  and 
exparte  judging  has  flown  in  upon  us  as  the  sea 
upon  Babylon  ;  principles  in  slander,  with  their 
aiders,  abettors,  and  counsellors  have  been,  and 
are  encouraged  ill  many  circles,  even  in  several 
of  the  churches,  as  also  by  politicians,  civilians, 
and  courts,  where  malicious  prosecutors  are  often 
admitted,  to  the  shame  of  whom  we  shall  produce 
two  edicts  of  the  emperors  Adrian  and  Antoninus, 
on  behalf  of  the  Christians  : 

"  Unto  Minutus  Fundanus,  proconsul  of  Asia, 
Adrian  sendeth  greeting — 


22 

I  received  an  epistle  from  Serenius  Granianus, 
that  right  worthy  man,  and  thy  predecessor,  the 
occasion  whereof  I  cannot  with  silence  leave  it  un- 
touched, lest  that  thereby  men  be  troubled,  and  a 
gap  left  open  to  the  malice  of  sycophants.  In  plain 
words,  if  any,  upon  spite  or  malice,  commence  or 
cavil  against  them,  see  you  chastise  him  for  his 
malice,  and  punish  him  with  revengement." — Eu- 
sebius  Pamphilus,  book  iv.  p.  61. 

If  all  men  in  church  and  state  would  imitate 
Adrian  herein,  Luciferian  pedlers,  postriders,  and 
commercial  smugglers,  should  not  be  permitted  to 
trade  in  such  stolen  goods,  devil's  love  letters,  or 
freights  of  slander,  upon  the  high  roads  and  seas  of 
defamation. 

Extract  of  an  epistle  from  Antoninus  Pius,  unto 
the  commons  of  Asia,  in  the  behalf  of  the  Chris- 
tians not  to  be  persecuted  : 

"  The  emperor  Caesar,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Anto- 
ninus, Armenicus,  Pontifex,  Maximus,  fifteen 
times  tribune,  thrice consui,  unto  the  community  of 
Asia  greeting — 

If  any  be  found  busied  in  other  men's  affairs, 
we  command  that  the  accused  be  absolute  and 
free,  though  he  be  found  such  a  one,  I  mean  faulty, 
and  that  the  accuser  be  grievously  punished." — 
Eusehius,  lib.  iv.  p.  63. 

"  This  edict  was  proclaimed  at  Ephesus,  in  the 
hearing  of  the  great  assembly  of  Asia,  witness 
hereof  is'  Meliton,  bishop  of  Sardis,  who  flourished 
at  that  time  in  his  profitable  apology  to  the  empe- 
ror Verus." 

Mark  the  emperor's  words — "  If  any  be  found 
busy  in  other  men's  affairs,  we  command  that  the 
accused  be  absolute  and  free,  though  faulty,  and 
that  the  accuser  be  grievously  punished." 


23 

This  would  be  punishing  the  real  malicious  sin^ 
ner,  who  is  the  implacable  felon,  and  letting  the 
supposed  one  go  free  until  prosecuted  without  ma- 
lice ;  that  is  to  say,  scripturally  and  legally  :  all  of 
which  requires  time,  patience,  forbearance  and  for- 
giveness. 

"  Apollonius,  a  person  renowned  for  learning 
and  philosophy,  at  that  time  in  Rome,  was  a  sin- 
cere Christian.  He  was  accused  by  a  slandering 
informer  before  Perennius,  the  judge,  a  person  of 
considerable  influence  in  the  reign  of  Commodus, 
the  emperor.  According  to  the  law  of  Antoninus 
Pius,  which  had  been  revived  by  Commodus,  re- 
quiring that  the  accusers  of  Christians  should  be 
put  to  death,  Perennius  sentenced  the  accuser  and 
his  legs  were  broken.  In  this  he  obeyed  the  dic- 
tates of  the  law  ;  in  what  follows  he  obeyed  the 
dictates  of  his  own  malice,  or  rather  that  of  the 
senate.  The  prisoner  was  required  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  his  faith  before  the  senate  and  the  court. 
He  complied,  and  delivered  an  apology  for  Christi- 
anity ;  and  by  a  decree  of  the  senate  was  beheaded. 
This  is  perhaps  the  only  trial  we  read  of  in  which 
both  accuser  and  accused  suffered  judicially." 

If  all  malicious  informers  were  to  have  their  legs 
broken,  as  were  those  of  the  aforesaid  devil's  ped- 
ler,  they  would  run  very  few  four  mile  heats  oi  ob- 
loquy for  his  satanic  majesty. 

Adam  Clarke,  in  remarking  upon  Even  so  must 
their  wives  not  be  slanderers,  1  Tim.  iii.  11.  ob- 
serves, not  slanderers,  (Greek)  "literally,  not  de- 
vils. This  may  be  properly  enough  translated 
slanderers,  backbiters,  talebearers,  &c.  for  all  these 
are  of  their  father  the  devil,  and  his  lusts  they  will 
do.  Let  all  such,  with  fhe  vast  tribe  of  calumnia- 
tors and  dealers  in  scandal,  remember  that  the  apos- 


24 

tie  ranks  them  all  with  malicious  fallen  spirits ;  a 
consideration  which,  one  would  suppose,  might  be 
sufficient  to  deter  them  from  their  injurious  and 
abominable  conduct." 

What  can  ail  your  backbiting  religious  roarers, 
goarers,  devil's  pedlers,  and  cacklers,  answer  in 
reply  to  this  learned  Doctor's  dissection  of  them, 
which  shews  their  alliance  with,  and  origin  from, 
Apollyon  the  destroyer  ? 

The  same  great  divine,  when  commenting  upon 
Eph.  iv.  31,  32,  thus  unfolds  the  true  sense,  verse 
31.  Let  all  bitterness.  "  It  is  astonishing  that  any 
who  profess  tiie  Christian  name,  should  indulge 
bitterness  of  spirit.  Those  who  are  censorious ', 
who  are  unmerciful  to  ihe  failings  of  others;  who 
have  fixed  a  certain  standard  by  which  they  mea- 
sure all  persons,  in  all  circumstances,  and  unchris- 
tian every  one  that  does  not  come  up  to  this  stand- 
ard ;  the  se  have  the  bitterness  against  which  the 
apostle  speaks.  In  the  last  century  there  was  a 
compound  medicine  made  up  from  a  variety  of 
drastic,  acrid  drugs,  and  ardent  spirits,  which  was 
called  Hiera  Picra,  (Greek)  the  holy  bitter.  This 
medicine  was  auministered  in  a  multitude  of  cases, 
where  it  did  immense  evii ;  it  has  ever  appeared  to 
me  to  furnish  a  proper  epithet  for  the  disposition 
mentioned  above,  the  holy  bitter,  for  the  religious 
censorious  act,  under  the  pretence  of  superior  sane- 
tity.  I  have  known  such  persons  to  do  much  evil 
in  Christian  society,  but  never  knew  an  instance  of 
them  doing  any  good." 

And  clamor — loud  and  obstreperous  speaking, 
brawling,  railing,  boisterous  talk,  often  the  offspring 
of  wrath  ;  all  of  which  are  highly  unbecoming  the 
?7ieek,  loxvly,  quiet,  sedate  mind  of  Christ  and  his 
folio  wers. 


25 

And  evil  speaking — (Greek)  blasphemy:  that  *is 
injurious  speaking,  words  which  tend  to  hurt  thobe 
of  whom,  or  against  whom,  they  are  spoken. 

With  all  malice,  or  all  malignity :  as  anger  pro- 
duces wrath,  and  wrath  clamor,  so  all  together 
produce  malice,  settled,  sullen,  fell  wrath,  which  is 
always  looking  out  for  opportunities  to  revenge  it- 
self by  the  destruction  of  the  object  of  its  indigna- 
tion. No  state  of  society  can  be  even  tolerable 
where  these  prevail ;  and  if  eternity  were  out  of 
the  question,  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to 
have  these  banished  from  time.  Verse  32,  Be  ye 
kind  one  to  another  :  be  kind  and  obliging  to  each 
other ;  study  good  breeding  and  gentleness  of  man- 
ners. A  Christian  cannot  be  a  savage,  and  he  need 
not  be  a  boor.  Never  put  any  person  to  needless 
pain. 

Tender  hearted,  compassionate,  having  the  bow  - 
els  easily  moved,  (as  the  word  implies)  to  commis- 
serate  the  state  of  the  wretched  and  distressed. 

A  roughness  of  manners  is  to  some  unavoidable  ; 
it  is  partly  owing  to  the  peculiar  texture  of  their 
mind,  and  partly  to  their  education.  But  there  are 
others  who  glory  in,  and  endeavor  to  cultivate  this 
ungentle  disposition  :  under  this  is  often  concealed 
a  great  degree  of  spiritual  pride,  and  perhaps  some 
malignity,  for  they  think  that  this  roughness  gives 
them  a  right  to  say  grating,  harsh,  and  severe 
things.  They  should  be  taught  another  lesson — 
and  if  they  will  not  demean  themselves  as  they 
ought,  they  should  be  left  to  themselves,  and  no 
man  should  associate  with  them.  They  are  not 
Christians  ;  and  they  act  beneath  the  character  of 
men. 

Union  among  the  followers  of  Christ  is  strongly 
recommended.     How  can  spiritual  brethren  fall 

C 


26 

out  by  the  way  !  Have  they  not  all  one  father, 
all  one  head  ?  Do  they  not  form  one  body,  and  are 
they  not  all  members  of  each  other  ?  Would  it  not 
be  monstrous  to  see  the  nails  pulling  out  the  eyes  ; 
the  hands  tearing  off  the  jlesh  from  the  body  ;  the 
teeth  biting  out  the  tongue,  &c.  &c.  ?  And  is  it 
less  so  to  see  the  members  of  Christian  society  bite 
and  devour  each  other  ?  Every  member  of  the 
mystical  body  of  Christ,  should  labor  for  the  com- 
fort and  edification  of  the  whole  ;  and  the  honor  of 
the  head.  He  that  would  live  a  quiet  life,  and  keep 
the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  must 
be  as  backward  to  take  offence  as  to  give  it. 
Would  all  act  on  this  plan,  and  surely  it  is  as  ra- 
tional as  it  is  Christian,  we  should  soon  have  "  glo- 
ry to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace  and 
good  will  among  men." — A.  Clarke. 
i  Do  all  things  without  murmurings.  Phil,  ii.  xiv. 
"  Without  grumblings  and  altercations.  Be  pa- 
tient in,  and  contented  with  your  work,  and  see 
that  ye  fall  not  out  by  the  way  " 

Ijet  your  moderation  be  known. — "  The  word 
(saith  A.  C.)  is  of  very  extensive  signification ;  it 
means  the  same  as  mildness,  patience,  yielding- 
ness,  gentleness,  clemency,  moderation,  unwilling- 
ness to  litigate  or  contend  ;  but  moderation  is  ex- 
pressive enough  as  a  general  term." 
.  "  Moderation,"  says  Dr  IVT Knight,  "  means 
meekness  under  provocation,  readiness  to  forgive 
injuries,  equity  in  the  management  of  business, 
candour  in  judging  of  the  character  and  ac- 
tions of  others,  sweetness  of  disposition,  and  the 
entire  government  of  the  passions."  Let  rough 
jaws  chew  these  remarks. 

Lifting  up  holy  hands  without  wrath.  1  Tim.  ii. 
8.    "  Having  no  vindictive  feeling  against  any  per- 


27 

son  ;  harbouring  no  unforgiving  spirit,  while  they 
are  imploring  pardon  for  their  own  offences." — 
Clarke. 

Millions  burn  the  assqfcetida  of  slander  upon 
the  altar  of  the  church,  rather  than  be  without 
smoke — and  set  ten  thousand  characters  on  fire, 
as  Nero  did  Rome,  who,  in  actor's  habit,  rejoiced 
at  the  beauty  of  the  flames  from  the  tower  of  Ma- 
cenas,  where  lie  played  upon  the  harp,  and  sung 
the  tragedy  of  the  destruction  of  Troy ;  just  as  if 
we  were  under  obligations  to  serve  the  devil  by 
exparte  caucuses  and  hearsay  evidence,  and  bound 
by  Jehovah  to  endear  damnation  to  ourselves,  by 
doing  the  unjust  work  of  slandering  supererogation, 
terminating  in  our  own  eternal  damnation,  under 
the  malicious  color  of  punishing  sin,  saving  souls, 
and  keeping  up  order.  "  An  Egyptian,  who  ac- 
knowledged fire  for  his  God,  one  day  doing  his 
devotions,  kissed  his  God  after  the  manner  of  wor- 
shippers, and  burnt  his  lips,  (as  slanderers  do  by 
kissing  that  fiery  serpent.)  It  was  not  in  the  power 
of  that  false  and  imaginary  deity  to  cure  the  real 
hurt  he  had  done  to  his  devoinest  worshipper." 
No  more  can  the  Diana  of  slander  cure  her  vota- 
ries, who  communicate  the  fire  of  hell  frosi  her 
volcanic  hydrophobia,  cholera  morbus  lips,  there- 
by rendering  their  touch  and  sound  infectious. 

"  We  read  a  story  of  a  virtuous  lady  that  desir- 
ed of  St.  Athanasuis  to  procure  for  her,  out  of 
the  number  of  the  widows  fed  from  the  ecclesias- 
tical corban,  an  old  woman,  morose,  peevish,  and 
impatient,  that  she  might,  by  the  society  of  so  un- 
grateful a  person,  have  often  occasion  to  exercise 
her  patience,  forgiveness,  and  charity." 

If  she  were  to  make  application  to  some  of  our 
clerical  bishops,  they  could  furnish  a  hecatomb  of 


as 

old  maids,  and  slow  jawed  stale  Bachelors,  born 
upon  the  mountains  of  division,  baptized  in  the 
steam  engines  of  bitter  herbs  and  the  oil  of  vi- 
triol ;  bitter,  hot  and  sour ;  some  of  whom  can 
Lord  and  libel  even  at  the  horns  of  the  altar  ;  al- 
though it  is  said  that  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must 
not  strive,  but  be  patient,  gentle,  and  meek  to  all 
men.  Yea,  though  James  iv.  11.  saith,  speak  not 
evil  one  of  another.  ci  This  grand  hindrance  of 
peace — and  he  that  speaketh  evil  of  another,  does 
m  effect  speak  evil  of  the  law,  which  so  strongly 
prohibits  it ;  and  thou  art  not  a  doer  of  the  law,  but 
a  judge  ofit;  thou  settest  thyself  above,  and,  as  it 
were,  condemnest  it."  Yet,  after  all  these  nega- 
tive commands,  the  humped  up,  pinched  faced, 
tossing  nosed,  high  eyed,  grunting,  and  psalm - 
singing  reviler,  goes  on,  like  a  bloodhound  upon 
full  sight  or  scent,  pumping,  prowling,  and  tearing 
in  pieces  !  If  any  one  be  ever  so  religious,  "  ex- 
act in  the  outward  form  of  religion,  and  bridle th 
not  his  tongue  from  backbiting,  talebearing,  evil 
speaking,  he  only  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  if  he 
fancies  he  has  any  true  religion  at  all." — John 
Wesley.  Let  every  Methodist  hear  this  from  their 
father.  You  may  preach,  pray,  and  sing,  as  Paul, 
Peter,  Apollos,  and  David  ;  shout,  and  give  all  you 
have  to  the  poor,  still  boasting  of  inward  religion, 
disproving  and  fleeing  all  other  vice,  yet  we  only 
seem  to  be  religious,  we  altogether  deceive  ourselves, 
till  our  religion  is  vain,  frothy,  and  ineffectual,  un- 
less we  bridle  (or  muzzle  our  mouths,  Psalms 
xxxix.  1.  margin)  andrestrain  our  reviling  tongues. 
"  A  seventh  article  in  the  character  (saith  A.  C. 
of  a  bishop)  is,  he  must  not  be  given  to  wine. 
The  word  not  only  signifies  one  who  is  inordinate- 
ly attached  to  wine,  a  wine  bibber,  or  tipler,  but 
also  one  who  is  imperious,  abusive,  insolent,  whe- 


29 

thcr  through  wine  or  otherwise.  Kype  contends 
for  the  latter  acceptation  here.  See  his  proofs  and 
examples. 

"  Eighthly. — He  must  be  no  striker  ;  not  quar- 
relsome ;  not  ready  to  strike  a  person,  who  may 
displease  him;  (he  must  not  thump,  kick,  and 
covvskin  Toney  and  Fanny,)  no  persecutor  of  those 
who  may  differ  from  him  ;"  not  prone,  as  one  wit- 
tily said, 

"  To  prove  his  doctrine  orthodox, 
By  apostolic  blows  and  knocks." 

Behold  them  trample  on  their  flocks, 

Supported  by  each  vulpine  fox, 

Like  tyger,  hawk,  or  goaring  ox, 

With  flouts  and  scouts,  and  outing  knocks, 

Then  off  they  soar  in  air  balloons, 

As  boreas  or  hot  monsoons ; 

So  fare  you  well,  and  fare  you  well, 
So  fare  you  well,  they  are  soaring  home. 

Some  roar  as  Balaam's  warning  ass, 
And  switch  a  Cushite  lad  ;mc>lass; 
And  gold  and  influence  amuss, 
Yet  still  they'll  preach,  we're  naught  but  grass, 
Adoring  all  the  holy  rich, 
They  throw  the  feeble  in  the  ditch. 
So  fare  you  well,  &c. 

He  judges  by  a  sly  hearsay ; 
His  vengeance  sweeps  you  in  a  day  ; 
Or,  like  a  slow  jaw'd  beast  of  prey, 
He  kills  by  smile  and  stab  delay ; 
And  by  a  cunning  Gospel  trick? 
He  props  a  tot'ring  bishopry 
Soiare  you  well,  &c. 
e2 


lolV. 


30 

FourteentJily — "  It  is  required  (saith  C.)  that  he 
be  not  a  novice,  not  a  young  plant,  not  recently  in- 
grafted;  that  is,  one  not  newly  converted  to  the 
faith.  It  is  impossible  that  one,  who  is  not  long 
and  deeply  experienced  in  the  ways  of  God,  can 
guide  others  in  the  way  of  life.  But  the  apostle 
gives  another  reason,  lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride 
he  fall  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil.  It  is 
natural  for  man  to  think  himself  of  more  impor- 
tance than  his  feilows,  when  they  are  entrusted  to 
his  government.  The  apostle's  term,  puffed  up, 
inflated,  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  a  bladder  when 
filled  with  air  or  wind.  It  is  a  substance,  has  a 
certain  size,  is  light,  can  be  the  sport  of  the  wind, 
but  has  nothing  in  it  but  am  Such  is  the  classi- 
cal coxcomb  :  a  mere  puff  ball,  a  disgrace  to  his 
function,  and  despised  by  every  intelligent  man. 
Should  we  not  say  to  those  whom  it  may  concern, 

'  From  such  apostles,  O  ye  mitred  heads, 
Preserve  the  church  !  and  lay  not  careless  hands 
On  skulls  that  cannot  teach  and  will  not  learn? 
% 
From  these  words  of  the  apostle,  we  are  led  to  in- 
fer, that  pride  or  self  conceit  was  the  cause  of  the 
devil's  downfall. " 

A  young  excrescent,  loud  Walloon, 
Who  fights  windmills,  and  bays  the  moon, 
A  sacerdotal,  proud  buffoon, 
A  high  ey'd,  lordly,  fell  dragoon, 
In  haugr+7  dev'lish  union. 

Such  froggish,  doggish,  hoggish  mopes, 
Frame  whips  and  seorp'ons,  snares  and  ropes, 
Like  Nero's,  Herod's,  Hainan's  popes, 


31 

Blighting  our  church  and  civil  hopes, 
By  huffing,  puffing  union. 

See  slandering  puff  balls,  light  as  air, 
Japan'd  all  o'er  with  bishop  hair, 
Behold  them  stamp,  and  roar,  and  stare, 
As  Solomon's  not  very  rare, 
In  bladder,  adder  union. 

Such  men  often  have  for  their  staff  of  honor, 
such  persons  as  the  following  :— Tim.  v.  13.  And 
withal  they  learn  to  be  idle.  "  They  do  not  work, 
and  they  will  not  work.  Wandering  about  from 
house  to  house. — Gadding,  gossipping  ;  never  con- 
tented with  home,  always  visiting.  And  not  only 
idle — If  it  wTent  no  farther,  this  would  be  tolera- 
ble ;  but  they  are  tattlers,  talebearers,  whisperers, 
light,  trifling  persons ;  all  noise  and  no  work.  Bu- 
sy bodies — Persons  who  meddle  with  the  concerns 
of  others,  who  mind  every  one's  business  but  their 
own.  Speaking  things  which  they  ought  not — 
Lies,  slanders,  calumnies,  backbiting  their  neigh- 
bours, and  every  where  sowing  the  seeds  of  dissen- 
tion." — Clarke. 

A  slandering  truth  is  the  devil's  truth  :  is  a  practi- 
cal lie  against  God,  or,  which  amounts  to  the  same 
thing,  if  ye  have  bitter  zeal  and  strife  in  your 
hearts,  (saith  James  iii.  14.)  do  not  glory -,  and  lie 
against  the  truth, 

"  True  Christian  zeal  is  only  the  flame  of  love. 
Do  not  lie  against  the  truth — as  if  such  zeal  could 
consist  with  heavenly  wisdom." — W. 

Buy  the  truth,  and  sell  it  not. — Prov.  xxiii.  23. 
What  truth  ?  A  puff  ball  truth,  a  whipping  truth, 
a  sly  matchbreaking  truth,  a  roaring  bull  frog 
truth,  that  he  got  drunk,  or  she  raised  the  wind  by 


32 

brawling  in  the  kitchen  ?  No,  no  ;  but  the  whole 
revealed  truth,  the  bloody  cross  truth,  a  saving 
truth,  the  spirit  of  truth  in  your  hearts,  the  love  of 
all  flesh,  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  your  whole 
duty  and  interest. 

A  LIE, 

According  to  Cruden,  is, 

1st.  A  falsity  or  untruth.  Judges,  xvi.  1.0. 

2d.  False  doctrine.   1  John  ii.  21,  22. 

3d.  An  image,  or  idolatrous  representation.  Rom. 
i.  25. 

First  meaning — Judges  xvi.  10  : 

And  Delilah  said  unto  Samson,  behold  thou 
hast  mocked  me,  and  told  me  lies  ;  now  tell  me,  I 
pray  thee,  wherewith  thou  mightest  be  bound. 

The  second  meaning  is,  false  doctrine — 1  John 
ii.  21,  22. 

No  lie  is  of  the  truth.  Who  is  a  liar,  but  he 
that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ?  He  that  be- 
lieveth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a  liar.  1  John  v. 
10.  He  that  saith,  I  know  him,  and  keepeth  not 
his  commandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  him.   1  John  ii.  4. 

The  third  meaning  of  a  lie — 

Who  changed  the  truth  of  Gad  into  a  lie,  and 
worshipped,  and  served  the  creature  more  than  the 
creator.  Rom.  i.  25. 

Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  of  peace  with  God  and 
man,  including  power  over  sin,  and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free.  John  viii.  32,  from  the  guiit,  pow- 
er, and  rnbeing  of  all  sin,  from  whispers,  and  all 
such  low,  cowardly  swindlings,  which  are  cum  nt 
coin  with  thousands  of  political  and  very  religious 


33 

grunters  and  roarers,  under  the  lying  excuse  that 
they  relate  nothing  but  the  truth,  which,  when  nar- 
rated against  the  truth  of  God's  word,  by  slander- 
ing a  brother,  is  a  lie,  though  what  is  said  be  a  fact ; 
it  being  manifest,  that  all  are  liars  who  set  up  a  sys- 
tem of  defamation  against  Gospel  reformation,  of 
unjust,  exparte  caucus,  in  opposition  to  two  or 
three  witnesses,  and  our  Lord's  seventy  times  se- 
ven, Matt,  xviii.  22,  and  of  blasting  the  fame  and 
uncovering  shame,  in  competition  with  that  charity 
which  cover eth  a  multitude  of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8. 
and  covereth  all  sins.  Prov.  x.  12. 

Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  (as  it  is  in  Jesus) 
hear  eth  my  voice.  John  xviii.  37  ;  which  truth 
and  voice  is  thus  iterated:  Love  your  enemies. 
Matt.  v.  44,  Luke  vi.  27,  23.  Whosoever  shall 
say  Raca  (that  is,  empty  fellow)  to  his  brother, 
shall  be  liable  to  the  council,  ver.  22.  Forgive 
us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors,  chap.  vi. 
12.  But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses, 
neither  will  your  Father  forgive  you  your  tres- 
passes, ver.  15,  And  reiterated  i\%  follows:  All 
things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  ;  for  this  is  the 
law  and  the  prophets.  Matt.  vii.  12.  Enter  ye  in 
at  the  straight  gate  of  love,  forgiveness,  and  for- 
bearance, and  not  through  the  wide  valves  of  the 
devil's  steam  engine,  slander,  propelled  by  the 
fire  of  hell  into  a  world  of  iniquity. 

Mr.  Wesley's  words  upon  Every  one  that  is  of 
the  truth,  shall  hear  my  voice,  are — "  An  universal 
maxim.  Every  sincere  lover  of  truth  will  hear  him 
so  as  to  understand  and  practice  what  he  saith.  In 
truth  and  love,  or  faith  and  love,  as  St.  Paul  speaks. 
Faith  and  truth  are  synonymous  terms."" — J.  IV. 
upon  2  John  verse  3.  I  found  of  thy  children,  v.  4, 


34 

walking  in  truth.  "  In  faith  and  love."  The  elder 
whom  I  love  in  the  truth,  vcr.  1.  "with  unfeigned 
and  holy  love."  Ver.  2.  For  the  truth's  sake, 
which  abideth  in  us — as  a  living  principle  of  faith 
and  holiness." 

What  has  any  admirer  of  Wesley  to  say  in  an- 
swer to  this,  who  has  denied  that  love  is  the  truth  ? 
Every  practice  and  assertion  which  professing 
Christians  set  up  opposite  to  God's  truth,  is  a  lie 
against  faith  and  love,  allowing  even  what  we  say 
to  be  a  fact ;  as,  for  instance,  to  tell  a  church  or 
preacher,  or  for  the  preacher  or  church  to  receive 
and  act  upon  a  slander  against  a  member,  contrary 
to  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  is  a  lie,  even  if  what  was 
said  of  the  man  was  true,  a  lie  against  the  Gospel, 
which  points  out  the  more  excellent  way  of  love. 

Yea,  let  God  be  true  and  every  man  a  liar.  Rom. 
iii.  4.  Every  man  who  opposes  slandering  church 
government,  and  secret  exparte  testimony,  to  God's 
impartiality.  Yes,  let  them  go  on,  be  condemned 
and  believe  the  lie,  xvho  believe  not  the  truth,  (of 
covering  sins)  but  had  pleasure  (like  fiends)  in  un- 
righteousness; in  expelling,  by  lordly,  partial,  hear- 
say, in  a  day,  againstyto/z  and  love. 

Brethren,  if  any  err  from  the  truth,  "  practically 
by  sin,"  James  v.  19.  he  (who  reforms  him)  shall 
save  a  soul — from  death,  running  into  malicious 
and  inconsiderate  slanders,  and  haughty  puff  ball 
airs;  he  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  thou- 
sands of  others  who  would  be  ruined  by  hirn ;  and 
hide  a  multitude  of  sins,  which  he  and  they  would 
scratch  up  as  dog's  do  rottenness  and  dead  men's 
bones.  He  that  saith  I  know  him,  and  keepeth  not 
his  commandments,  (to  love  ene?nies ;  to  bear  each 
other's  burdens;  to  restore  in  the  spirit  of  meekness; 
to  tell  his  brother  between  him  and  him  ;  to  hide  a 


35 

multitude  of  sins  ;  to  love  his  neighbour  as  himself  J 
is  a  liar,  even  allowing  what  he  blubbers  out  of  his 
neighbour's  to  be  true  ;  and  the  truth,  of  truth  and 
love,  of  faith  and  silence,  of forbearance,  and  Gos- 
pel order,  is  not  in  him.  1  John  ii.  4.  Nay,  but 
the  cunning  of  the  hissing,  whispering,  fiery  ser- 
pent, whose  very  name  signifies  slanderer,  accuser, 
or  destroyer. 

Again — a  disavowal  of  the  Gospel  doctrine  is  a 
lie,  because  it  is  against  God's  record,  which  slan- 
der also  is  ;  as,  for  instance,  no  lie  is  of  the  truth, 
1  John  ii.  21. 

"  All  the  doctrines  of  these  antichrists  are  irre- 
concilable to  it,"  as  are  those  of  oppression  and 
hearsay  evidence,  instead  of  free  and  impartial  in- 
quiry, and  the  loving  faith  of  the  Gospel.  Who  is 
a  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ? 
ver.  22.  "  Who,  (saith  Wesleyj  is  guilty  of  that 
lying,  but  he  who  denies  that  truth,  which  is  the 
sum  of  all  Christianity."  Here,  truth  signifies  the 
word  of  God ;  and  a  disavowal  thereof  a  lie  against 
that  word  of  truth  ;  of  which  the  defamer  is  virtu- 
ally guilty,  when  he  publishes  what  he  should  con- 
ceal. 

The  truth  that  is  in  thee.  3  John  2,  3,  4.  "  The 
true  faith  and  love."  I  have  no  greater  joy  than 
this,  ver.  4.  "  Such  is  the  spirit  of  every  true 
Christian  pastor." — W.  To  hear  that  my  children 
walk  in  the  truth.  What  truth,  Mr.  Telltale,  and 
Miss  Aitarscraper  ?  Not,  certainly,  a  slandering 
truth,  which  is  a  lie  against  the  faith  and  love  ol  the 
Gospel ;  but  a  loving  perseverance  in  the  whole 
circle  of  the  Christian  duty.  Fellow  helpers  to  the 
truth,  ver.  8.  preached  by  the  brethren  and  stran- 
gers, ver.  5.  To  receive,  "  with  all  kindness,  the 
truth  which  they  preach." 


36 

For  the  truth* s  sake,  which  abideth  in  us.  2  John 
i.  2.  "  as  a  living  principle  of  faith  and  holiness  ;" 
not  a  tell-tale  principle.  Sanctify  them  through 
the  truth :  The  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  called  the 
"  spirit  of truth"  who  is  diametrically  opposite  to 
that  unholy  ghobt,  the  spirit  of  slandering,  mali- 
cious lies  and  truths.  Thy  word  is  truth,  John 
xvii.  17.  "  Consecrate  them  by  the  anointing  of 
thv  spirit  to  their  office,  and  perfect  them  in  holi- 
ness, by  means  of  thy  word,"  saith  Wesley. 

Pray  Mr.,  Miss,  and  Misses  Luciferian  Trum- 
peters, how  long,  think  ye,  would  it  take  slander- 
ing truths  to  sanctify  us  ;  that  is  to  say,  prohibited, 
unscriptural,  whispering  truths,  to  make  up  God's 
loving,  forbearing,  sin-covering,  forgiving,  and  re- 
claiming truth  ?  And  2d.  How  many  millions  of 
those  fine,  religious,  devilish,  stranger-running, 
merchant  breaking,  negro  whipping,  match  break- 
ing, mechanic  starving,  nymph  killing,  preacher 
spoiling,  soul  damning,  and  church  dividing  truths, 
will  amount  to  the  unerring  spirit  of  truth,  which 
is  to  sanctify  us  ?  Until  you  can  answer  these  que- 
ries in  the  affirmative,  we  shall  beg  the  favor  of 
stigmatizing  your  diabolical  lickplate,  altarscrap- 
ing,  bespattering  truth,  by  the  opprobrious  epithet 
oUies  against  the  Holy  Gospel  of  God. 

"  Truth  is  also  taken  for  testimony,  because  it  is 
a  witness  between  God  and  man,  of  God's  will, 
and  of  man's  duty." 

Bind  up  the  testimony )  seal  the  law  among  my 
disciples.  Isaiah  vin.  16.  "  By  the  testimony  and 
the  law,  or  doctrine,  he  understands  the  word  of 
God.  ver.  20.  Law  and  testimony,  the  main  scope 
whereof  is  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel." —  W.  Not 
the  devil's  gospel  of  slanderous  truths,  to  disgrace 
our  brethren,  and  prejudice  their  civil  and  religious 


37 

rights  by  secret,  sly  hearsays.  Had  the  prophet 
have  said,  bind  up  the  testimony  of  gadders,  ad- 
ders, backbiters,  railers,  receivers,  and  whisperers, 
and  seal  the  lawless  obloquys  of  supplanting,  gos- 
sipping,  devil's pedlers,  and  tyrants,  we  should  long 
e'er  now  have  fulfilled  both  law  and  testimony. 

Therefore  be  not  thou  ashamed — "When  fear  is 
banished,  evil  shame  also  flees  away — of  the  testi- 
mony of  our  Lord — the  Gospel,  and  of  testifying 
the  truth  of  it  to  all  men." — JVesley,  upon  2  Tim. 
i.  3. 

Upon  the  whole,  we  might,  with  the  same  plau- 
sible pretensions  to  truth,  say  of  a  puncheon  of  poi- 
son, mixed  with  a  gill  of  rum,  that  it  was  the  best 
West- India  rum,  because  it  had  l  best  West-India? 
upon  the  head  of  it,  as  to  attempt  to  pass  slander 
for  Christian  charity,  under  the  malicious  excuse 
that  what  we  narrated,  had  some  facts  mixed  up 
with  the  poison  of  asps,  which  excites  us  to  con- 
clude this  point  by  observing,  that  as  God  and 
mammon.  Christ  and  Beliel,  are  not  the  same  ;  no 
more  are  the  devil's  slandering,  smuggling  truths, 
God's  truth  ;  nor  the  poisonous,  regurgitating,  bit- 
ter waters  of  Satan's  slandering  steam  engine,  any 
thing  else  but  the  overflowings  of  his  highest  recti- 
fied, implacable  gall-bladder,  productive  of  the  cho- 
lera morbus  of  hell,  which  terminates  in  the  most 
direful  results  in  time  and  eternity.  How  much 
better  would  it  sound  to  ask,  with  Pilate,  the  cour- 
tier, "  JVhatis  truth?  What  is  it  worth?  What 
signifies  truth  ?  Is  it  worth  dying  for  ?  Is  it  a  thing, 
or  nothing  ?  Right  or  wrong,  or  mixed  up  of  right 
and  wrong?"  than  to  pass  slandering  truth  for 
Gospel,  law,  and  testimony. 

If  an  attempt  in  the  Grecians  to  check,  dismay, 
and  vanquish  Philip,  king  of  Macedon,  was  called 

D 


38 

by  Demosthenes,  acing  nobly,  though  their  valour 
was  stigmatized  as  unsuccessful  by  their  malig- 
ners,  shall  we  be  accused  of  presumption,  for  at- 
tempting to  neutralize  the  acidity  of  malignant 
tempers  and  humors,  which  are  forming  concre- 
tions in  the  stomach,  bowels,  lungs,  and  heart  of 
society,  productive  of,  and  resulting  in,  the  most 
direful  ulcers,  noisome  and  grievous  sores  ?  We 
hope  not,  but  that  the  community  will  join  in  with 
us,  in  christening  slanderers  as  men  stealers  and 
murderers,  as  Lucifer's  smugglers,  under  whose 
lincenses,  charts,  and  commissions  they  sail ;  car- 
rying on  an  illicit  commerce,  in  blasting  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent,  name  and  fame,  their  abominable 
holds  being  stowed  away  with  malefic  stores,  im- 
ported from  the  bottomless  pit,  and  trimmed  by 
the  devil's  double  geared  jackscrew  of  defamation, 
with  thecoloursof  religion  flying,  such  as  moral  vir- 
tue, dignity,  decent  pride,  a  religious  nod,  a  divine 
wink,  a  holy  groan,  as  if  they  travailed  for  poor  sin- 
ners, a  prophetic  shrug,  portentous  of  future  evil, 
an  inflated  white  ej  'd  sigh,  or  marvellous  law  !  con- 
cluding with  a  long,  quivering,  sorrowful  prayer- 
smile  and  stab-signal,  L-o-r-d  p-i-t-y  t-h-e-m, 
they  are  the  worst  foes  to  themselves,  as  they  break 
bruised  reeds  ;  shewing  thereby,  like  mount  JEtna 
shaking,  that  they  are  loaded  with  internal  fire  from 
hell,  or  an  overcast,  angry  heaven,  the  seat  of  phe- 
nomena, that  a  vial  of  wrath  is  coming,  or,  as  a 
troubled,  black,  inflated,  turgid  ocean,  portentous 
that  they  are  about  to  be  guilty  of  shipwreck. 

Our  object,  then,  is  to  prove  them  liars,  carry- 
ing on  a  war  in  disguise  against  religion,  under  the 
colors  of  affected  sanctity  ;  against  the  peace  of  so- 
ciety, colored  by  justice  and  mercy  ;  against  truth 
and"  candor,  under  the  pretence  of  truth  and  can- 


39 

dor ;  against  honesty,  coloured  under  the  necessi- 
ty of  putting  men  upon  their  guard  ;  and,  in  fine, 
that  they  S  carry  tales  to  shed  blood,'  stimulated  by 
cupidity,  whim;  and  vanity,  and,  therefore,  ought 
to  be  punished  as  such  villains  deserve,  by  statute 
law,  in  proportion  to  their  criminal  intentions  and 
actions.  Many  blind  guides  strain  out  gnats  from 
the  church  and*  states,  and  swallow  the  camels  of 
injustice,  partiality;  impatience,  hearsay  evidence, 
and  slander;  and  with  a  heart  double  hooped  with 
flint,  a  brow  of  adamant,  a  forked,  barbed  tongue 
of  steel,  dipped  in  poison,  the  poison  of  cunning, 
sly,  private  defamation,  pierce  and  poison  thou- 
sands. Yea,  the  camel  of  unmerciful  judging,  of 
talebearing,  is  retained,  instead  of  the  following: 
But  we  were  gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse 
cherisheth  her  children.  1  Thess.  ii.  7.  Not  as 
some  of  our  modern,  raspish,  cattish,  lion-like  roar- 
ers, who  affright  their  children,  who  disinherit  them 
by  sacerdotal  fretfulness  in  the  nurse  keepers,  and 
doctors  of  the  church,  who  give  violent  sudorifics, 
emetics,  and  drastic  medicines  ;  instead  of  the  sin- 
cere milk  of  suffering  long,  of  a  1-o-n-g,  patient 
mind  ;  instead  of  hoping  the  best  of  a  brother,  when 
faith  in  him  fails  ;  instead  of  telling  a  brother  pri- 
vately, until  '  seventy  times  seven,'  if  he  repent. — 
Matt,  xviii.  15,  22,  to  the  end  of  the  chap.  Luke 
xvii.  1  to  5.  Titus  iii.  2.  Eph.  iv.  31,  32,  Col  iii. 
8  to  14.  James  iv.  11.  1  Peter  ii.  i.  We  want 
patient  nurses,  that  will  not  break  the  bones  of 
the  children  by  throwing  them  down  upon  the 
pavement,  for  every  trifle ;  the  church  nurse  may 
be  a  slanderer,  and  often  is  a  receiver  of  stolen  re- 
putations. Psalms  xv.  1.  3.  The  servant  of  the 
Lord  must  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  patient,  or  (for- 
bearing, margin)  2  Tim.  ii.  24.    Neither  as  bdng 


40 

lords  (or"  overuling  the  majority)  over  God's  he- 
ritage. Such  lords,  in  seventy,  are  backbiting 
usurpers.  "  When  ye  received  the  word  of  God, 
ye  received  it  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but  (as  it  is 
in  truth)  the  word  of  God. "  1  Thess.  ii.  13.  What 
is  this  word  of  truth  ?  To  put  him  out,  if  you  have 
hearsay,  suspicion,  and  lordly  power  enough  to  car- 
ry the  unjust  point  ?  No,  no,  but  in  the  mouth  of 
two  or  three  witnesses ;  not  one  talebearing  cup- 
cackler.  If  they  will  not  hear  the  church.  Matt, 
xviii.  Not  to  put  her  out,  put  him  out,  but  restore 
him  in  the  spirit  of  meekness.  Gal.  vi.  1.  "  It  is 
written,  that -the  testimony  of  two  men  is  true." 
John  viii.  17.  Dent.  xvii.  6.  Yet  we  are  come  to 
this,  that  the  whispering  of  one  half- grown  girl  will 
do  with  some  of  your  very  suspicious  great  men. 
Put  on  bowels  of  mercy,  saith  Paul,  Col.  iii.  12.  If 
any  have  a  quarrel,  (or  complaint,  margin )  forgive, 
ver.  13.  No,  no,  put  him  out,  say  your  ill-bred 
lords.  To  the  law  and  the  testimony,  which  is  the 
truth,  and  not  to  unmerciful  tyrants  over  God's 
heritage,  against  mercy  and  truth. 

Church  governors  ought,  in  all  things  relating  to 
character,  to  approve  themselves  as  the  ministers  of 
of  God,  in  much  (not  little  slandering  J  patience, 
by  pureness,  (not  by  impure  hearsays)  by  know- 
ledge, (not  juvenile,  partial  ignorance)  by  long 
suffering,  (not  to  mew,  and  jump,  like  an  impa- 
tient cat)  by  kindness,  [wot  haughtiness  and  seve- 
rity) by  the  Holy  Ghost,  (not  by  the  unholy  ghost 
of  backbiting)  by  love  unfeigned,  (not  by  brother 
and  talebearing  united)  by  the  word  of  truth,  (not 
by  the  devil's  word  of  slanderous  truth,  which  is  a 
lie  against  God's  truth.  2  Cor.  6,  4,  6,  7.)  not 
handling  the  word  of  God  deceitfully,  (not  whis- 
pering wherever  we  go,)  not  walking  in  craftiness^ 


41 

(going  up  and  down  as  the  devil's  pedlers,  craftily 
finding  out  every  villainy,  and  telling  of  it  to  our 
sly  friends;)  but  have  renounced  the  hidden  (pri- 
vate slandering*  things  6f\ Whispering  and  cunning 
judging)  darkness,  by  manifestation  of  the  truth, 
(not  of  hearsay  truth  and  lies)  commending  our- 
selves to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of 
God.  2  Cor.  iv.  1  to  3. 

O  !  how  little  do  double  rectified  church  oppres- 
sors resemble  our  merciful  and  faithful  high  pries% 
who  sent  word  to  backsliding  Peter  of  his  trium- 
phant resurrection,  who  gave  that  hungry  sailor  his 
dinner,  and  then  restored  him  to  his  apostolic  of- 
fice. One  of  your  keen-tongued  great  men,  sharp 
nosed  small  men,  chissel  lip'd  cat  men,  would  have 
puffed  at  him  like  a  porpoise,  shut  their  snap  turtle 
eyes  and  lips  upon  him,  like  a  vice  upon  a  broken 
reed.  Yes,  when  his  mouth  was  under,  they  would 
put  down  his  nose  also,  and  rejoice  in  the  last  bub- 
ble which  arose  upon  the  surface,  because  it  fulfil- 
led their  evil  thinking  prophesy  of  the  heart  broken 
Peter.  Shall  mankind  always  submit  their  civil 
and  religious  liberties  of  justice,  truth,  and  mercy, 
to  such  open-mouthed  prowlers  '*?  No,  no — To 
the  law  and  the  testimony,  Isaiah  viii.  16,  20.  the 
testimony  of  Jesus,  Rev.  i.  2  ;  to  the  law  of  truth, 
Mai.  ii.  6  ;  not  whispering  lies  against  truth  ;  to 
grace  and  truth,  John  i.  17  ;  not  to  graceless,  snuf- 
fy, smoky,  church,  or  state,  slandering  truths,  law- 
less nods,  winks,  and  devil's  love  letters  :  to  the 
doers,  then,  of  the  law  of  love,  Rom.  ii.  13  ;  of  the 
perfect  law  of  liberty,  James  i.  25  ;  the  fu  Hi  Hers  of 
the  royal  law,  James  ii.  8.  These  are  our  truths, 
law,  and  testimony  :  upon  these  principles  we  con- 
struct the  following  pages  for  the  universal  good. 
not  for  false  or  lawless  bigotry  for  a  partv. 

D.2 


42 

Suppose  the  justices  who  compose  a  general 
court,  were,  with  jurors  and  witnesses,  to  hold  an 
exparte  council  on  various  occasions,  upon  hear- 
say evidence,  of  crimes  committed  by  certain  citi- 
zens, and  prejudge  them;  thus  prejudicing  their 
civil  rights,  would  not  the  legal  evidence  of  such 
injustice  form  a  ground  for  their  impeachment,  by 
an  action  that  would  lie  against  them,  and  also  viti- 
ate and  destroy  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  while  it 
would  weaken  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  ?  And 
shall  not  we,  who  are  called  upon  to  judge  nothing 
before  the  time,  to  know  no  man  after  the  flesh,  be 
upon  our  guard  ?  \\  e,  who  have  the  charge  of 
congregations,  who  may,  by  a  single  step  of  severity, 
upon  suspicion,  hearsay,  or  partial  testimony,  enve- 
lope and  destroy  our  brethren  in  time  and  eternity  ! 
We,  whose  justice  is  always  to  be  tempered  with 
meekness,  patience,  gentleness,  and  mercy.  One 
word,  upon  an  unhappy  occasion,  has  often  produ- 
ced the  most  direful  results,  especially  against  the 
poor,  the  weak,  the  wavering,  and  the  vexed  heart 
of  the  stranger  !  Let  us  take  particular  care  how 
we  bark  and  spur  upon  our  own  ground.  Why, 
O  why,  do  we  put  on  that  stiff,  puff  ball  look  ? 
Why  riggle  our  japaned  backs,  sacerdotal  hair, 
slow,  selfish  bow,  and  all  important  self,  into  supe- 
rior favoritism,  at  the  expense  of  humanity,  good 
breeding,  honesty,  manliness,  justice,  the  loyal 
law,  and  our  brother's  overthrow  ?  Shall  we  go 
to  hell  for  Diotrephes's  monopoly  ?  Our  law 
judges  no  man  before  it  hear  him,  and  know  what 
he  doeth.  Is  whispering  the  hearing  spoken  of? 
Is  hearing  one  side,  by  having  both  sides  of  our 
partial  cake  buttered,  scriptural  hearing?  Is  judg- 
ing in  the  absence  of  the  accused,  without  being 
confronted  by  the  opposite  side,  by  cross  examina- 


tion,  knowing  what  the  poor,  oppressed,  and  slan- 
dered innocent  doeth?  Is  jumping  upon  the  ap- 
palled brother  like  a  cat,  and  \vo»ying  him  as  a 
mastiff,  without  giving  time  for  repeated  hearings, 
justice?  Is  being  judged  by  a  prejudiced  tribu- 
nal, justice  ?  Is  it  justice,  where  there  is  not  al- 
ways a  check  upon  check  ?  Is  it  an  impartial 
code  or  administration,  where,  I  say  before  the  trial, 
that  "  I  shall  say  so  ;"  and  "  will  you  do  so  ;"  and 
"  we  shall  decide  so,  in  caucus  fashion  ;"  and  that 
too,  when  our  all  is  at  stake  >  and  the  previous  ques- 
tion proposed  and  taken,  instead  of  free  inquiry ; 
instead  of  mercy  glorying  over  justice  ? 

We  have  been  long  tossed  up  and  down  in  the 
tempestuous  ocean  of  political  and  religious  ambi- 
tion. Exclusive  privileges  have  been  sought  for, 
and  obtained,  by  the  cunning,  over  the  candid;  the 
avaricious,  over  the  benevolent ;  the  pompous,  over 
the  humble.  Many,  having  quite  forsaken  and  lost 
the  good  old  way  of  true,  humble  greatness  ;  are 
climbing  up  to  the  dangerous  acme  of  sacerdotal 
littleness. 

The  cogitations  and  agitations  of  envious  souls, 
(as  bodies  surcharged  with  bile)  are  overflowing  by 
malignant  regurgitations,  through  the  ducts  of  so- 
ciety, resulting  in  the  black  vomit  of  defamation  ; 
which,  poisoning  the  atmosphere  of  all  companies, 
is  inhaled  into  the  bowels,  brains,  blood,  and  whole 
system  of  civil  and  religious  economy.  The  plague 
having  thus  obtained  fixedness,  discolors  the  co- 
ral lip  by  the  deadly,  hellish  tinge  of  pale  blue  en- 
vy ;  the  vivid  glow  of  the  cheek  with  sallow  saffron; 
the  brow  of  heaven  is  perverted  into  Leviathan  fe- 
rocity ;  that  eye  of  sympathy,  to  the  fiery  glance 
of  dire  portentous  wrath  ;  whilst  the  smiling  mouth 
gnaws  the  under  lip,  as  indicative  of  some  deadly 


44 

passion  !  The  hearts  of  almost  all  society,  joining 
in  the  murderous  perturbations  and  undulations, 
of  which  those  are  the  signs  ;  run  for,  and  grasp  at, 
wider  fields  of  power,  oppression,  riches,  and  re- 
venge, until  the  horrific  fangs  and  spoliations  hav- 
ing long  accrued  to  society,  by  tyrannical,  imbecile 
servants,  having  rode  upon  political  and  religious 
horses,  trampling  broken  reeds  in  the  dust ;  res- 
training popular  revenge,  is  thereby  heated,  as  Ne- 
buchadnezzar's furnace,  and  burns  up  their  direful 
malignant  oppressors  ;  or,  like  mount  /Etna,  roars, 
shakes  its  fiery  top,  pours  down  its  indignant  lava, 
and  burns  up  the  briars  and  thorns  in  one  day  !  To 
avoid  which,  let  us  restrain  personal  slander  ;  limit, 
check,  and  define,  privilege  and  power.  To  obtain 
these  ends,  we  shall  consider  those  words  of  the 
prophet  Ezefcfel  : — 

In  thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood. 
In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood.  Lzek. 
xxii.  9,  12. 

Fine  work  for  Christians  to  be  about.  "  To  car- 
ry tales  to  shed  blood/'  to  shed  biood  by  whispers,. 
for  gifts  too  ;  "  In  thee,  (saith  the  prophet)  have 
they  taken  gifts  to  shed  biood."  If  you  look  at 
the  marginal  explanation  of  tales  in  the  text,  it  will 
be  found  to  read,  "  men  of  slanders  ;"  as  much  as 
if  the  prophet  had  said,  lightly  as  you  may  think  of 
tales  in  English  they  mean  slaiiders  in  the  original 
Hebrew,  and  although  you  leave  it  entirely  to  a 
jury  and  court  to  punish  slanderers,  as  the  jury  and 
court  may  adjudge  proper,  without  a  special  sta- 
tute, yet  herein  you  are  guilty  of  partiality  in  the 
codes  of  your  jurisprudence  ;  for  in  thet  are  a  set 
of  men  and  women,  who,  under  the  color  of  the 
Glory  of  God,  the  safety  of  the  republic,  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  guilty,  the  saving  of  the  innocent, 


45 

justify  all  their  slanders  :  thus  coloring  the  mali- 
cious murders  of  the  tongue  and  pen,  under  the 
hypocritical  mask  of  pretended  necessity,  and, 
therefore,  should  be  restrained  by  special,  defined, 
limited  statute. 

St.  Paul  saith,  "  Speak  evil  of  no  man."  Titus y 
iii.  2.  The  slanderer  singles  out  an  extraordinary 
black  case  of  evil,  without  full  proof,  only  by  hear- 
say and  malicious  suspicion,  and  under  that  pre- 
tence justifies  all  hisfelonious  defamations.  "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  saith  God ; 
we  plead  necessary  slanderous  informations,  in  bar 
of  the  fulfilment  of  the  equitable  precept — "  What- 
soever ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do 
ye  even  so  to  them,  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets," saith  Jesus.  Matt.  vii.  12.  For  which  law 
and  prophets  they  substitute  Lucifer's  lawless  ob- 
loquys,  still  crying  out  necessity ! 

Solomon  saith,  "  It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  con- 
ceal a  thing."  Prov.  xxv.  2.  But,  contrary  to 
God's  glory,  the  slanderer,  as  the  devil's  constable, 
acts  by  virtue  of  his  hellish  search  warrant,  and  re- 
veals every  thing  he  hears  or  suspects,  to  the  pre- 
sent and  eternal  injury  of  his  brother.  "  Love 
covereth  all  sins  ;  but  (whispering)  hatred  stirreth 
up  implacable  strifes."  Prov.  x.  12.  Ail  honest, 
still-tongued  man,  will  faithfully  take  the  beam  out 
of  his  own  eye  ;  but  a  whispering  hypocrite,  will 
steadfastly  and  suspiciously  behold  the  "  mote  in 
his  brother's  eye."  Matt.  vii.  An  altar- scraping 
tell-tale,  a  church  lickplate,  like  Peter,  can  bear 
with  his  brother  only  until  seven  ti?nes  ;  while  a 
saint  mercifully  endures  until  seventy  times  seven* 
Matt,  xviii.  21,  22.  If  a  well-bred  Christian  be 
offended  by,  or  at  his  brother,  he  goes  and  tells 
him  of  his  fault  between  him  and  him  alone,  like 


46 

a  man ;  but  an  open-mouthed  maligner  runs  like 
Jehu's  chariot  with  Satan's  license,  and  disburdens 
his  heart  burning  backbitings,  to  some  receiver  of 
murdered  and  stolen  reputations  in  the  church.  A 
faithful  soldier  of  the  cross  forgives  seven  times  in 
a  day,  if  his  brother  repent.  Luke  xvii.  4  ;  while  a 
puffed  up,  impatient  reviler  bawls  out,  "  what !  if 
he  got  drunk  publichj\  fine  work,  indeed,  always 
sinning,  and  always  repenting  ;"  and  this  he  pro- 
nounces with  as  great  a  puff  as  an  offended  dog, 
when  he  sneezes  out  a  load  of  foul  matter  from  his 
nostrils,  falsely  and  foolishly  imagining  that  he  has 
a  license  to  alter  God's  rule  herein,  because  the 
matter  transpire  publicly  !  Thus,  and  thus  go 
on  the  implacable  breakers  of  bruised  reeds,  as  the 
devil's  pedlers. 

When  a  poor,  frail  brother  is  overtaken  in  a 
fault,  those  who  are  spiritual  restore  such  an  one  in 
the  spirit  of  meekness,  considering  themselves  lest 
they  also  be  overcome,  herein  bearing  each  other's 
burdens,  and  so  fulfilling  the  law  of  Christ.  Gal. 
vi.  ;  whilst  an  unforgiving,  fretful  railer,  who  lords 
it  over  God's  heritage,  thinking  himself  to  be 
something,  because  he  has  the  charge  of  a  church, 
when  he  is  nothing  but  a  double  rectified  novice, 
sticks  his  tongue  and  pen  into  the  poor  backslider's 
heart,  and  pierces  him  through  with  many  sorrows  ! 
A  meek  and  holy  saint,  above  all  things,  has  fer- 
vent charity,  and  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,  1 
Peter  iv.  8. ;  whilst  a  pedling  talebearer  sitteth 
and  speaketh  against  his  brother  :  thou  slanderest 
thine  own  mother's  son,  Psalm  1.  20. 

Having  thus  contrasted  the  patient  saint  and 
high  eyed,  malefic  slanderer,  we  proceed  to  the  di- 
vision and  consideration  of  the  text. 


47 

a  In  thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood. 
In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood." 

And,  in  the  first  place,  let  us  explain  what  is 
meant  by  tales,  in  the  text ;  called  slanders  in  the 
margin. 

2dly.  The  signs,  lies,  and  theft  of  these  tale  car- 
riers. 

3dly.  That  they  are  murderers,  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  saith,  "  they  carry  tales  to  jshed blood 7"  their 
object  is  murder. 

4thly.  That  the  love  of  gain  prompts  them. 
"  They  have  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood." 

Inquire  we,  then,  what  is  meant  by  tales  ? 

You  will  not  forget  that  tales  in  the  text,  is  call- 
ed slanders  in  the  old  marginal  Hebrew  ;  so  that, 
according  to  the  Hebrew,  a  talebearer,  (not  barely 
a  liar  J  is  a  slanderer;  that  is  to  say,  any  kind  of 
tales,  productive  of  mischief,  or  loss,  are  slanders, 
whether  those  tales  be  false  or  true — For  it  matters 
not  to  the  sister  or  brother,  whom  we  pierce  by  our 
tales,  whether  inconsiderate  truth,  or  deliberate  ma- 
lice was  the  cause  of  their  ruin,  for  "  what  signifies 
the  innocency  of  the  motive  or  intention,  when  the 
action  is  a  crime." — Massillon. 

And  this  meaning  of  the  word  slander,  is  con- 
firmed by  the  German,  or  Teutonic  word  Ferlime- 
dung,  s.  slander,  backbiting,  railing,  vilifying,  de- 
traction, evil  speaking,  whispering,  obloquy,  tra- 
ducing. Bailey  derives  the  verb  to  slander,  from 
schaenden,  literally  to  scandalize,  from  the  ancient 
German,  or  Teutonic,  answering  to  the  words  evil 
speaking  and  backbiting  ;  either  by  lies,  malicious 
truth,  or  iuconsideration ;  even  a  caviler,  a  quirky 
or  a  malicious  interpreter  is  a  slanderer,  according 
to  Young's  Latin  Dictionary, 


48 

Boyer's  French  dictionary  explains  the  verb  neu- 
ter niedire,  to  mean,  to  slander,  rail,  speak  ill,  or 
revile,  to  backbite,  or  traduce.  And  the  word  me- 
(Usance,  sub.  slander,  or  slandering,  obloquy,  de- 
traction, evil  speaking,  railing,  reviling,  or  vilify- 
ing, backbiting,  traducing. 

From  which  overuling  authorities  we  may  safe- 
ly affirm,  that  there  are  slanderous  truths,  as  well 
as  slanderous  falsehoods,  contained  in  Apollyon's 
steam  frigate  defamation. 

The  gentlemen  of  the  bar  smile  at  the  want  of 
information  of  the  law  in  those  who  constantly  af- 
firm, in  the  most  dogmatical  manner,  that  truth  is 
not  slander ;  and,  to  their  everlasting  discomfiture, 
produce  the  following  overwhelming  law  authori- 
ties : — 

"  It  is  no  excuse  in  for  o  consciencia,  (at  the  bar 
of  conscience(  that  the  slanderous  words  spoken 
are  true.  For  malicious  slander  is  the  relating  of 
either  truth  or  falsehood,  for  the  purpose  of  creat- 
ing misery  :  for  truth  may  be  made  instrumental 
to  the  success  of  malicious  designs,  as  well  as 
falsehood- " — Bacon,  vol.  vi.  p.  201. 

Slander,  (saith  the  great  law  author  Espinasse, 
barrister  at  law,)  is  the  defaming  a  man  in  his  re- 
putation, by  speaking  or  writing  words,  from 
whence  any  injury  in  character  or  property  arises, 
or  may  arise,  to  him  of  whom  the  words  are  used." 
— Espinasse *s  Digest,  p.  196,  chap.  x. 

And  the  great  Paiey,  in  his  Moral  Philosophy, 
quarto  edition,  p.  191,  says,  "  that  there  is  such  a 
kind  of  slander  as  may  be  denominated  inconsider- 
ate:' 

"  Inconsiderate  slander,  (saith  he)  consists  in  the 
want  of  that  regard  to  the  consequences  of  our  con- 
duct, which  a  just  affection  for  human  happiness, 


49 

and  a  concern  for  our  duty,  would  not  have  failed 
to  have  produced  in  us.  And  it  is  no  answer  to 
this  crimination  to  say,  that  we  entertained  no 
evil  design." 

Some  signs  of  the  disease  called  tales,  or  slan- 
ders, are  as  follow  : — 

First  suspicion. 

M  But  he  was  foul,  ill  favoured,  and  grim. 
Under  his  eye  brows  looking  still  askance  ; 
And  ever  as  dissemblance  laugh'd  on  him, 
He  lower'd  on  her  with  dangerous  eye  glance  : 
Shewing  his  nature  in  his  countenance. 
His  rolling  eyes  did  never  rest  in  place, 
But  walk'd  each  way,  for  fear  of  hid  mischance  ; 
Holding  a  lattice  still  before  his  face, 
Through  which  he  still  did  peep,  as  forward  he 
d id  pass. ' '  Spencer. 

Behold  a  room,  arrray'd  in  pride, 

As  each  sits  up  a  target  shield  ; 
Where  angled  eyes  the  weak  deride, 

And  chase  them  through  the  coquette  field. 
The  vain  embattled  fops  engage, 

In  nods,  and  laughs,  and  peeps,  and  puns ; 
With  slowjaw'd  spleen,  and  envious  rage, 

As  langrage,  rockets,  grape,  and  guns. 

Never  did  a  kicking  horse  or  mule  shew  a 
greater  propensity  for  a  side  kick,  by  turning  back 
the  tale  of  the  eye,  than  does  a  talebearer,  when  he 
gives  the  same  sign  of  a  crooked  heart,  by  a  back 
glance  from  his  angled  eye. 

2d.  Winking  is  another  "  hell  spot"  of  a  tale- 
bearer. 

"  A  naughty  person,  (saith  Solomon)  a  wicked 
E 


50 

man  winketh  with  his  eyes,  speakcth  with  his  feet, 
he  teacheth  with  his  fingers  ;  frowardness  is  in  his 
heart,  he  deviseth  mischief  continually  ;  he  soweth 
discord."     Prov.  vi. 

Take  care  of  all  those  finger  teachers,  and  feet 
speakers,  for  they  are  sowing  discord. 

Whispering  is  another  death  spot  tinged  upon 
the  lips  of  a  talebearer. 

Whisperers  are  called  haters  of  God.  Romans  i. 
29,  SO. 

They  divide  chief  friends,  saith  the  wise  man. 

3d.  Asking  questions  with  an  inquisitorial  as- 
pect, the  answering  of  which  opens  a  wide  field  of 
infamy,  upon  which  the  slanderer  would  feast  his 
eyes,  and  feed  his  malicious  heart,  proves  us  to  be 
calumniators  of  a  very  deep  die.  Some  twisting, 
cackling,  skipping,  sipping,  shuffling  young  twit- 
terers,  have  a  sarcastic  way  of  squeaking  their 
throats  to  each  other,  with  a  scream  of  contempt 
and  ridicule,  indicative  of  obloquy  against  some 
person  or  persons  present,  terminating  their  turgid  - 
ity  by  a  guinea  hen  cackle. 

"  Another  "hell  spot,"  or  full  proof  of  a  slanderer 
is,  his  sheepish,  hidden  smile  at  the  narration  of 
calamities  having  happened  to  his  competitors,  and 
upon  the  prostration  of  a  man  who  transcended 
him  in  virtue,  talents,  success,  and  public  opinion, 
to  rejoice  like  those  who  divide  the  spoil. 

Again,  when  we  call  up  the  name  of  an  absent, 
or  shew  honor  to  a  person  who  is  present,  or  ex- 
pose one  who  is  obnoxious  to  a  third  person,  and 
that  third  person  wrinkles  the  nose,  tosses  the  upper 
lip,  kindles  and  winks  the  eye,  lowers  the  eye 
brows,  lolls  out  the  tongue,  or  twists  the  mouth  to 
the  one  side,  like  the  handle  of  a  high  seasoned 
teapot,    O  !  man  of  God,  there  is  death  in  the  pot  I 


51 

A  very  evident  sign  of  a  slanderer  is,  the  inward 
gall  which  boils  out  by  a  stamping  foot,  a  bear 
grunt,  screwed  up  eye,  frowning  eye  brow,  biting 
lip,  shrugging  shoulders,  shaking  head,  haughty 
and  menacing  mien,  when  a  backbiter  is  turned  in 
side  out  by  an  ingenious  and  ingenuous  delinea- 
tion. 

Another  mark  of  a  talebearer  is,  when  they  op- 
pose those  who  stand  up  like  men  for  universal 
charity,  watching  every  word  of  their  mouths, 
blackening  their  motives,  joining  their  enemies, 
envying  their  success,  slighting  their  persons,  and 
weakening  their  arguments ;  thus  fulfilling  our 
Lord's  words,  he  that  is  not  with  us  is  against  us, 
and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  us,  scattereth  abroad. 

Ignorance  of  what  evil  speaking  is,  is  a  certain 
evidence  of  our  being  upon  the  slandering  side  of 
the  question.  For  if  we  do  God's  will,  by  search- 
ing the  Scriptures,  we  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
of  love,  which  is  of  God,  and  hatred,  which  is  of 
the  devil.  Why,  and  whence  is  it  that  so  few  know, 
as  that  great  scholar  and  divine,  John  Wesley  saith, 
what  evil  speaking  is  ?  "  What  is  evil  speaking?" 
(saith  he).  All  a  man  says  may  be  as  true  as  the 
Bible,  and  yet  the  saying  it  is  evil  speaking.  Sup- 
pose I  have  seen  a  man  drunk,  or  heard  him  curse 
or  swear,  I  tell  this  when  he  is  absent :  it  is  evil 
speaking.  In  our  language,  this  is  also,  by  an  ex- 
tremely proper  name,  termed  backbiting.  If  a  tale 
be  delivered  in  a  soft  and  quiet  manner,  then  we 
call  it  whispering.  Still  it  is  evil  speaking  ;  still 
this  command,  "  speak  evil  of  no  man"  is  trampled 
tinder  foot,  if  we  relate  to  another  the  fault  of  a 
third  person,  when  he  is  not  present  to  answer  for 
himself.  We  speak  thus  out  of  a  noble,  generous, 
(it  is  well  if  we  do  not  say)  holy  indignation  against 


52 

these  vile  creatures  !  We  commit  sin  from  mere 
hatred  of  sin  !  We  serve  the  devil  out  of  pure  zeal 
for  God.  It  is  merely  to  punish  the  wicked,  that 
we  run  into  this  wickedness*  So  do  the  pas- 
sions justify  themselves,  and  palm  sin  upon  us  un- 
dertime veil  of  holiness." 

Where  is  one  amongst  a  hundred  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's admirers,  who  does  not  err  from  the  closeness 
of  his  Catholic  arguments,  and  come  under  the  de- 
nomination of  those  who,  when  they  see  a  man 
drunk,  or  hear  him  curse  or  swear,  serve  the  devil 
out  of  pure  zeal  for  God,  by  blabbing  it  out  ?  And 
out  of  mere  hatred  to  sin,  thus  commit  sin  ? 
Where,  we  ask  again,  is  one  in  five  hundred  of  ail 
the  religious  world,  who  comes  up  to  this  great, 
and  for  two  hundred  years  inimitable,  reformer's 
injunctions?  "Resolutely  (saith  he)  refuse  to 
hear,  though  the  whisperer  complain  of  being  bur- 
dened till  he  speak.  Burdened !  thou  fool,  dost 
thou  travail  with  thy  cursed  secret,  as  a  woman  tra- 
vaileth  with  child  ?  Go  then  and  be  delivered  of 
thv  burden,  in  the  way  the  Lord  hath  ordained." 
Matt,  xviii. 

And  we  may  add  that  those  who,  as  Mr.  Wes- 
ley enjoins,  do  not  resolutely  oppose  slanderers, 
are  also,  with  the  backbiter,  out  of  the  holy  hill, 
according  to  the  Hebrew  margin  of  Psalm  xv.  3. 
wherein  it  is  said,  or  receiveth,  or  endureth  ;  that 
is,  he  that  receiveth  or  endureth  the  backbiter 
without  reproof,  or  the  taker  up  of  the  reproach 
which  the  backbiter  drops,  is  in  the  devil's  right, 
is  out  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  holy  hill. 

Having,  we  hope,  proved  to  the  conviction  of 
the  impartial  inquirer,  that  tales,  in  the  original  he~ 
brew,  mean  slanders,  and  also  that  slander  means 
any  kind  of  evil  speaking,  or  detracting  from  the 


reputation  of  another,  either  by  lies  or  truth,  by 
malicious  truths,  or  malicious  falsehoods  ;  as  also 
having  given  a  few  of  the  "  hell  spots''*  of  slande- 
rers :  We  proceed  next  to  prove,  that  backbiting 
means  to  speak  against  a  person,  and  not  lies,  as 
some  imagine,  not  malice  alone,  not  misrepresent- 
ation alone. 

2dly.  That  backbiters  are,  as  such,  incorrigibly 
incapable  of  telling  the  truth,  their  minds  being  bi- 
assed by  the  devil. 

odly.  That,  when  in  a  backbiting  manner,  they 
tell  a  slanderous  truth,  it  is  a  moral  lie  against 
revealed  truth. 

And  first,  backbite — This  word,  according  to 
the  great  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  is  derived  from  two 
Greek  words,  one  of  which  is  against,  the  other,  / 
speak,  literally  to  speak  against  a  person  ;  so  that 
the  word  don't  mean,  as  Wesley  Kiith,  to  speak  be- 
hind the  back  barely,  but  any  kind  of  railing,  revil- 
ing, or  evil  speaking  of,  or  against  a  person,  either 
to  the  face,  or  behind  the  back.  What  then  will 
the  new's  carrier  do  to  keep  up  his  or  her  trade  of 
telling  upon  all  those  wicked  sinners,  whom  they 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  insulting  before  com- 
pany, and  to  preachers,  and  all  others  behind  their 
backs?  We  know  what  they  ought  to  have  had 
long  ago  for  backbiting,  namely — the  penitentiary, 

2dly.  We  were  to  prove,  that  a  backbiter  is, 
while  continuing  in  that  spirit,  incapable,  as  such, 
of  telling  the  truth,  his  mind  being  bent  upon 
high  coloring.  To  accomplish  which,  we  ask,  with 
Pilate — What  is  truth?  Jesus  saith,  if I am  the 
truth."  John  xiv.  6.  What  example  did  He,  who 
is  the  truth,  set  before  us  ?  Why  mercy,  pity, 
forgiveness,  and  covering  the  sins  of  Mary,  at  the 
table  of  whispering  Simon,  the  Pharisee.  Luke  vii. 

e2 


54 

And  when  a  group  of  women  haters,  or  old  slander- 
ing bachelors,  brought  a  poor  woman  taken  in 
adultery,  for  Jesus  to  accuse  her  before  him,  he 
took  the  poor  girl's  part,  instead  of  joining  her  dull, 
dry,  joyless  maiigners,  making  it  the  only  condi- 
tion of  their  throwing  a  single  pebble  at  her,  that 
they  should  be  what  it  is  impossible  for  any  un- 
merciful backbiter  to  be,  that  is  to  say,  without 
sin.  John  viii.  7.  And  we  may  further  add  that 
he  said  nothing  severe  to  her,  nor  any  word  against 
her,  until  the  slanderers  turned  their  backs  upon 
"  mercy  and  truth  met  together"  in  the  person  of 
the  Messiah.  Psalm  lxxxv.  10;  as  they  would 
do,  were  we  to  follow  herein,  his  example.  For 
be  it  enacted,  that  wherever  mercy  and  truth  are 
seperated,  neither  mercy  or  truth  can  exist ;  char- 
ity or  mercy  being  the  truth,  and  therefore  rejoices 
in  the  truth,  when  it  promotes  the  interest  or  hap- 
piness of  even  an  enemy.   1  Cor.  xiii.  6. 

"  The  Church  is  called  the  pillar  of  truth.  1 
Tim.  iii.  15.  It  holds  forth  the  mind  of  Christ,  as 
a  pillar  does  an  edict  or  proclamation,  that  all  may 
take  notice  of  it ;  so  that  the  truths  of  God  are 
published,  (not  the  nods,  winks,  sarcasms,  and  lies 
of  backbiters)  supported,  and  kept  from  sinking  by 
it ;  in  which  sense,  teachers,  prophets,  and  apos- 
tles are  likewise  called  pillars."  Prov.  ix.  1.  Jer. 
i.  18.   Gal.  ii.  9. — A.  Cruden. 

"  Truth  is  put  for  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gos- 
pel" Gal.  iii.  1.  O  !  foolish  Gallatians,  who  hath 
bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth  ? 
And  we  may  add,  O  !  foolish  backbiters  and  tale- 
bearers, after  what  we  have  produced  to  prove  that 
slanderers  are  incable  to  tell  the  truth,  be  no  longer 
bewitched  by  the  malignant,  who  seduce  you  from 
the  truth  of  mercy  and  truth  met  together,  but  im- 


55 

itate  him  who  is  the  truth,  in  covering  and  forgiv- 
ing sins  ;  imitate  the  Church  as  the  pillar  of  the 
truth,  holding  forth  the  mind  of  Christ,  as  pillars 
do  edicts  and  proclamations,  that  all  may  see,  read, 
and  obey,  so  that  the  truths  of  God  may  be  pub- 
lished, not  Lucifer's  obloquys. 

What,  then,  are  those  charitable  truths  of  God, 
the  holding  forth  of  which,  is  the  duty  of  Christians, 
and  of  the  promulgation  whereof  backbiters  are 
incapable,  while  the}  continue  traducers  ? 

And  first — "  0  lord,  ^  saith  David)  thy  command- 
ments are  the  truth.  Psalm  cxix.  151. 

They  are  negative,  as  follows  : — 

Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and  down  as  a  talebearer 
amongst  thy  people.  Levit.  xix.  16.  If  you  ask 
the  talebearer  where  the  emphatic  word  in  this 
sentence  is,  he  or  she  will  reply,  shalt,  as  if  God 
commanded  him  imperiously  to  be  a  talebearer ; 
whereas  it  is  a  negative  command,  and  therefore 
has  the  imperative  prohibitory  injunction  upon  the 
word  not — "  Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and  clown  as  a 
talebearer,"  plainly  proving  that  the  backbiter  is  the 
devil's  pedler,  or  trader,  (as  the  Hebrew  word  tale- 
bearer means,  as  saith  A.  Clarke,;  when  he  says, 
naming  a  man  or  woman,  he  got  drunk,  or  she 
brawled,  railed,  or  fought  in  the  kitchen  ;  instead, 
then,  of  being  pillars  of  the  truth,  holding  forth  the 
mind  of  Christ  as  pillars  do  proclamations,  they  are 
pillars  of  lies  and  malicious  colourings,  turn- 
ing motes  into  beams,  giving  publicity  to  the  edicts 
and  proclamations  ol  the  father  of  lies,  who  was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the 
truth.  "  Lord  (saith  David)  who  shall  abide  in 
thy  tabernacle  ?  Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill  ? 
He  that  backbiteth  not  with  his  tongue,  nortaketh 
up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbour."  Psalm  xv.  3. 


56 

Take  notice,  he  don't  say  he  that  backbiteth — this 
is  not  the  emphatic  word,  but  he  that  backbiteth 
not.  Neither  doth  he  ask,  Who  shall  get,  or  who 
has  gotten  into  the  Church  ?  But  who  shall  abide 
there  ?  And  immediately  makes  it  a  test  of  their 
abidance  therein,  that  they  backbite  not,  take  not 
up  the  backbiter's  reproach,  not  receive  or  endure 
it,  as  saith  the  margin  :  shewing,  by  these  nots,  the 
incapacities  of  backbiters  to  tell  the  truth,  and 
their  aptitude  to  lies. 

Having  shewn  who  truth  is,  and  that  his  exam- 
ples are  as  opposite  to  backbiting  as  heaven  is  to 
hell,  or  truth  to  falsehood  ;  as  also,  that  the  Church 
is  compared  to  a  piliar  holding  forth  the  word  of 
truth,  as  pillars,  in  some  countries,  do  edicts  and 
proclamations,  that  all  may  see,  read,  and  obey  the 
laws  ;  as  also,  that  God's  commands  are  called  the 
truth ;  that  upon  the  subject  in  hand  in  the  Chris- 
tian merchant's  account  brought  forward,  they  are 
negative  and  positive,  in  which  St.  Paul  joins  when 
he  saith,  "speak  evil  of  no  man"  Titus  iii.  2. 
And  St.  James,  speak  not  evil  one  of  another,  bre- 
thren :  he  that  speaketh  evil  of  his  brother,  speak- 
eth  evil  of  the  law.  James  iv.  11.  They  accuse 
that  very  law  which  prohibits  their  slanders,  for 
saying,  ''speak  evil  of  no  man,"  and  they  set  up 
an  uncharitable  system  of  backbiting  against  it. 
Hiving,  we  repeat,  brought  forward  the  slanderers 
truth,  and  proved  it  to  be  a  lie  by  the  negative 
command  thou  shalt  not,  we,  in  the  next  place, 
pledge  ourselves  to  prove  it  to  be  a  double  rectified 
lie  in  the  affirmative,  by  the  positive  com- 
mand, Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord — "  Thou  shalt  not  avenge, 
nor  bear  any  grudge  against  the  children,  of  thy 
people  ;  but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thy- 


57 

self.  Levit.  xix.  Until,  then,  the  devil's  pedlers, 
and  love  letter  writers  in  obloquy,  can  prove  that 
the  command  enjoins  it  upon  us  to  avenge,  and 
would  thus  read,  "  Thou  shalt"  instead  of  "  thou 
shalt  not"  avenge.  Thou  shalt  ??o£love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself,  (because  misers,  shavers,  slave- 
holders, and  slanderers  find  this  equitable  precept 
too  honest,  just,  and  merciful,  and  the  lazy,  the 
robber,  and  the  flinthearted  say  the  way  is  too  nar- 
row ;)  we  say,  until  these  points  are  proved,  we 
consequently  set  down  religious  backbiters  as  liars, 
though  they  speak  what  they  call  nothing  but  the 
truth  ;  it  being  evident  that  every  thing  is  a  lie, 
which  is  opposite  to  the  written  word  of  truth. 

u  I  rejoiced  greatly,  (saith  John)  that  I  found  thy 
children  walking  in  the  truth."  What  truth,  John  ? 
Why,  that  ye  have  backbit,  and  carried  tales  be- 
cause they  were  true,  because  ye  have  told  upon 
every  one  who  got  drunk,  like  hoarse  or  squeaking 
marsh  frogs,  and  upon  every  couple  who  disagreed 
hi  their  families,  upon  swearers  by  name,  upon 
liars  ;  but  more  especially  because  ye  have  slan- 
dered the  poor,  the  slave,  the  fatherless,  the  widow, 
the  stranger,  and  those  who  were  in  your  debt,  like 
cowards  and  assassins.  No,  no,  saith  John,  but 
the  "  truth,  as  we  have  received  commandment 
from  the  father.  And  now  I  beseech  thee,  lady, 
(you  see  how  he  writes  to  the  ladies)  not  as  though 
I  wrote  a  new  commandment  unto  thee,  but  that 
which  we  had  from  the  beginning,  that  we  love  one 
another.  And  this  is  love,  that  we  walk  after  his 
commandments.  This  is  the  commandment,  that 
as  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning,  ye  should 
walk  in  it."  2  epis.  John.  iv.  5,  6.  As  certain, 
then,  as  love  is  truth,  and  the  commandment  love, 
yea,  the  old  commandment  from  the  beginning,  so 


58 

certain  it  is,  that  when  we  depart  from  love,  to  tell 
what  we  call  truth,  that  is  to  say,  a  slanderous 
truth,  not  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  we  are  liars ; 
we  are  shamed,  blamed,  and  shall  be  damned,  if  we 
continue  to  think,  teach,  and  practice  those  slan- 
derous, malicious  truths,  which  being  opposite  to 
God,  produced  by  the  devil,  evidenced  by  back- 
bitings,  and  declared,  by  the  eternal  Logos, 
his  word  or  spirit,  to  have  been  lies  from  the  be- 
ginning ;  for  "he  that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not 
God,  as  God  is  love."  1  John  iv.  8.  "  Love  work- 
eth  no  ill  to  his  neighbour,"  therefore  true  ;  hatred 
and  telling  backbiting  truths,  is  continually  work- 
ing all  kinds  of  ill  to  our  neighbour  ;  therefore,  a 
lie.  "  Therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 
Therefore,  backbiting,  which  signifies  to  speak 
against  a  person,  either  by  truth  or  lies,  is  the  vio- 
lation of  the  law  of  God,  of  the  land,  of  decency, 
honesty,  truth,  and  love  ;  of  course  it  is  hellish  an- 
archy ;  'tis  Satan's  fore  courts  of  injustice  and  mis- 
representation ;  'tis  indefinite  injustice,  irreparable 
ruin  !  Before  it  is  Eden,  behind  it  a  desolate  wil- 
derness !  "  All,  therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them  ;  for  this,  (not  telling  upon  your  brother,)  is 
the  law  and  the  prophets."  Matt.  vii.  J2;  cer- 
tainly, then,  as  ye  would  not  wish  for  mankind  to 
"  make  themselves  merry  with  your  faults,"  nor  to 
tell  them  at  all  to  your  injury,  by  turning  your  wife, 
husband,  son,  daughter,  benefactor,  brother,  sis- 
ter, neighbour,  debtor,  creditor,  lawyer,  preacher, 
leader,  master,  mistress,  sweetheart,  or  enemy  of 
your  faults  ;  or  if  you  were  a  stranger,  to  be  slight- 
ed, or  otherwise  to  do  any  thing  contrary  to  what 
you  would  think  just  by  a  change  of  situation  ;  in 
a  word,  "  whatsoever  ye  xooidd^  ought  to  govern 


59 

all  our  thoughts  and  actions  through  life  ;  but  if  we 
do  contrary  thereunto,  we  violate  the  moral,  the 
royal  law,  and  the  prophets — consequently,  to  ap- 
ply it  to  the  point  in  hand,  we  are,  in  so  doing, 
liars  against  universal  charity ;  so  self-evident  it 
is  ;  yea,  it  must  be,  that  he  that  will  not  abide  by, 
and  promote  Christian  charity,  will  never  be  bound 
by  truth.  Yea,  let  God  be  true,  but  every  (back- 
biting telltale)  a  liar  .•"  a  liar  against  morality,  con- 
science, revelation,  and  God ! 

Having  proved,  from  the  "  truth  of  God"  that 
a  backbiter,  or,  which  is  the  same,  that  a  slande- 
rer, as  a  retailer  of  reviling  truths,  acts  from  a  mo- 
tive which  never  can  be  supported,  namely,  that, 
while  circulating  obloquy,  he  profess  and  justifies 
his  innocency  of  intention,  when  the  action  is  vil- 
lainous ;  thus  doing  what  is  contrary  to  the  royal 
law  of  love,  upon  which  his  self-love  is  not,  but 
should  be  founded ;  we  go  on,  in  continuation,  to 
illustrate  tiie  subject  by  a  mirror,  a  lake,  a  magni- 
fying, or  multiplying  glass. 

When  persons  who  pass  by  a  mirror  are  thrown 
upon  their  heads  by  the  refraction,  we  then  have  a 
small  representation  of  a  backbiter  who  inverts  the 
order  of  incidents,  his  mind  being  altogether  bent 
upon  distortion,  contortion,  and  entire  misrepre- 
sentation. 

Behold  an  inflated  lake,  pond,  or  river,  all  trou- 
bled, restless,  turbid,  "  shewing  a  surface  continu- 
ally varying  ;■"  in  it  you  mark  the  features  of  a 
slanderer,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  a  defamer ; 
the  y  misrepresent  the  landscapes — so  do  the  minds, 
tongues,  and  pens  of  defamers  distort  the  features 
of  moral  landscapes;  stuffed  up  with  envy  and 
malice,  their  eyes  are  red,  yellow,  green,  or  biack  ; 
and  according  to  the  gall  of  the  heart,  and  as  is  the 


60 

colour  of  the  eyes,  so  will  be  the  image  upon  the 
diseased  retina  ;  that  is  to  say,  as  they  wish,  as 
they  think,  as  they  hear,  so  they  speak,  which  is 
always  in  the  marvellous,  received  and  conveyed 
through  a  defaced,  suffocated  atmosphere. 

As  is  a  magnifying  glass  to  the  eye,  turning  a 
musqueto  into  a  large  cormorant,  bittern,  or  grey 
crane ;  a  merino  ram  into  an  elephant,  or  a  sunfish 
to  a  whale  ;  so  also  is  a  backbiting  disposition  to 
transform  the  appearance  of  evil  into  the  most  pro- 
fligate designs  and  overt  acts  ;  the  lens  are  diseased, 
or,  as  when  a  multiplying  glass  refracts  a  legion, 
though  but  one  or  two  are  advancing,  so,  in  like 
manner,  the  slanderer  sounds  the  defamatory  trum- 
pet of  discord,  in  all  companies,  setting  the  world 
on  fire  by  a  small  matter,  and,  therefore,  always 
speaking  in  hyperboles,  comes  under  the  denomi- 
nation of  a  liar ;  yea,  a  troop  cometh,  as  the  mo- 
ther of  Gad  said  at  his  birth  :  which  leads  us  to 
consider  him  as  a  thief,  as  a  robber  of  the  highest 
magnitude,  an  universal  felon  ! 

"  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  is  broken  in  upon,  and 
violated  every  where  by  those  who  will  not  steal  a 
pin;  wife  and  husband  are  stolen  from  each  other 
by  slanderers ;  matches  broken  up  ;  workmen  pre- 
vented of,  and  ruined'm  their  several  employments; 
strangers  defeated  in  honest  attempts  to  settle  in 
our  beloved  Canaan ;  while  merchants  and  me- 
chanics are  drove  upon  the  rocks  of  Cilia,  and  into 
the  vortex  of  Charvbdis  ! 

Solomon  saith,  Prov.  x.  18,  That  "  he  that  ut- 
ter eth  slander  is  a  fool ;"  that  is,  the  circulater,  the 
maker  known,  he  that  uncovers  the  tale  ;  thus,  in 
like  manner,  he  who  utters  bad  notes,  or  false  coin, 
is  equally  guilty  of  felony  with  him  who  makes  the 
bad  money.     How  foolish,  then,  and  lying  is,  and 


61 

must  be  the  whisperer  who  thinks  that  uttering, 
that  is  to  say,  publishing  the  faults  of  his  brethren, 
is  not  equally  damning,  as  are  the  actions  of  those 
drunkards,  liars,  fighters,  and  swearers,  of  whom 
these  very  religious  and  cunning  calumniators 
speak  with  an  evil  tongue,  hypocritical  groan,  and 
a  pitying,  white  eyed,  long  prayer,  crying  out  with 
a  quivering  tone,  L-o-r-d  pity  him,  he  is  the  worst 
foe  to  himself. 

The  avidity  with  which  those  well  known  words 
of  Shakspeare  have  been  received,  in  the  Moor  of 
Venice — 

"  He  who  steals  my  purse  is  a  trash  thief; 

"  But  the  pilferer  of  my  good  name, 

ei  Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him, 

"  And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

We  repeat,  the  universal  agreement  of  all  Chris- 
tendom with  that  historical  great  dramatic  poet,  in 
that  sentiment,  proves  that  slanderers  are  consi- 
dered as  the  most  enormous  thieves  in  society  ;  and 
that  we  no  longer  should  hesitate  to  call  them  fe- 
lons, but  have  a  "Be  it  enacted"  as  well  as  a  thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Surely  no  one  can  be  so  ignorant 
as  not  to  know  that  there  is  one  thousand  dollars 
worth  robbed  from  mankind  by  the  tongue  and 
pen,  for  one  hundred  by*  the  fingers  in  the  pick- 
pocket way  ;  by  signs  from  Satan's  signal  book  of 
defamation,  such  as  his  telegraphical  conveyances, 
which  is  enough  to  make  us  cry  out  as  Cicero, 
"  O  Cataline,  how  long  shall  we  bear  with  you  ?" 
O  slanderers,  O  Satan's  pedlers,  ye  privileged 
fire  brands  of  society,  ye  barking,  biting,  dogs  of 
hell !  how  long  shall  we  bear  with  you  ?  Ye  plod- 
ders, winkers,  and  nodders,  who  pray  Lord  pity 
them,  they  are  the  worst  foes  to  themselves,  then 
stab  by  the  harpoon  of  the  tongue,  praying  for, 

F 


62 

smiling  at,  whispering  against,  feeding,  clothing, 
and  robbing  all  around  !  How  ridiculous  do  we 
appear  to  ourselves  while  declaring  against  slander, 
and  yet  caress  backbiters,  as  the  favored,  spoil- 
ed Joseph's  of  the  church  and  state  ?  Instead  of 
consigning  them  to  the  penitentiary,  we  leave  it 
with  a  jury  without  a  penal  statute  equal  or  pro- 
portionate in  punishment  and  obloquy  to  other 
criminalites.  If  there  were  an  act  of  assembly, 
which  would  punish  the  slandering  thief  who  steals 
by  the  tongue,  as  well  as  those  who  steal  with  the 
hands,  then,  in  that  case,  the  jury  could  find  them 
guilty  under  such  an  act,  as  in  cases  of  lar- 
ceny, without  affecting  either  the  trial  by  jury,  the 
liberty  of  speech,  or  of  the  press,  an  act  which 
would  provide  for  the  liberty  of  canvassing  the 
conduct  and  character  of  our  public  agents  by  the 
tongue  and  pen,  as  those  are  amenable  to  the  peo- 
ple, as  their  trustees  and  guardians. 

Then,  when  a  jury  would  find  against  a  back- 
biter, he  could  not  as  he  now  can,  swear  out  by  the 
insolvent  act,  but  must,  like  a  double  distilled  villain 
go  into  the  clang  click  house  of  correction  ;  even  a 
citp  cackler  could  not  then  break  up  a  character  or 
a  match  with  impunity,  and  thus  impede  popula- 
tion. If  a  man  has  anything  against  another,  let 
him  forgive  like  a  Christian,  or  sue  at  law,  as  a 
man,  and  not  slander  by  words  or  letters,  like  the 
devil's  pedler!  Suppose  a  person  to  be  going 
about  with  a  torch,  burning  the  world  before  him, 
another  with  a  naked  dagger  stabbing,  and  a  third 
with  a  case  of  pistols  sho  >ting  all  he  meets,  would 
society  not  wrest  the  fire  from  the  incendiary,  the 
dagger  from  the  assassin,  and  the  pistol  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  murderer  ?  And  shall  not  we  then 
cut  out  the  tongue  of  the  slanderer  for  burning  so- 


63 

ciety,  cut  off  the  hand  of  Lucifer's  letter  writers, 
and  suffocate  that  throat  of  Cerberus  for  being  like 
an  open  sepulchre  of  hell,  by  swallowing  up  all 
around  '?  More  especially  as  the  rattlesnake  gives 
warning  before  it  bites,  the  lion  roars  before  it  tears 
in  pieces,  the  dog  barks  ere  he  bites,  but  the  sly, 
insidious  whisperer  has  robbed  you  of  all  your  fu- 
ture joys,  before  you  discovered  his  or  her  hand, 
or  heard  their  voice  speaking  out  of  the  dust ;  your 
character  is  decided  upon  in  your  absence  ;  no- 
thing, in  a  few  hours,  has  amounted  to  most  des- 
tructive realities  ;  the  tale  accumulates  as  it  goes, 
and  the  mark  of  eternal  infamy  is  stamped  upon 
you  from  Dan  to  Bersheba ;  and  all  this  by  the 
devil's  four  courts  of  injustice  ;  the  companion  of 
your  bosom  is  alienated  from  you,  neighbours  and 
friends  turn  away,  the  object  of  your  future  expec- 
tations tosses  up  the  nose  at  you  ;  money,  trade, 
food,  clothing,  friends  are  all  gone,  gone  for  ever ; 
down  you  sink,  brood,  and  languish  under  the  op- 
pressive, overwhelming  load,  until  a  house  of  bad 
fame  entraps  one,  frost  kills  another,  a  third  is 
starved  with  his  family  for  want,  a  fourth  drowns 
herself,  a  fifth  stabs,  a  sixth  shoots,  a  seventh  poi- 
sons, an  eighth  hangs  himself,  while  another  swal- 
lows a  dose  of  laudanum  ;  thousands  are  scattered 
from  their  homes,  and  expire  in  the  midst  of  want, 
waves,  wild  beasts  of  prey,  more  desirable  than 
domestic  obloquy.  But  the  evil  to  the  slave  and 
stranger  is  not  to  be  conceived,  suspected  in  peace, 
arrested  in  war,  made  capable  of  every  villainy,  and 
accountable  for  every  tumult ;  accused  of  insatiate 
ambition  in  the  church  as  well  as  the  state,  he  is 
slighted,  hooted,  trampled  upon,  and  cast  out ; 
juries  are  incensed  against  him,  without  having 
one  half  of  that  body  made  up  of  foreigners  to  pre 


64 

vent  national  partiality  !  His  talents  are  underrat- 
ed, his  good  evil  spoken  of,  his  way  headed  up  by 
cowards,  the  envious  and  the  malignant,  and  O 
tell  it  not  in  Gath,  even  his  religious  friends,  and 
among  the  in  some  ambitious  little  would  be- lords 
over  God's  heritage,  who  are  perpetually  riggling 
for  favoritism,  supplant  them  in  whispers,  letters, 
peeps,  shrugs,  and  other  low-bred,  cunning  devi- 
ces ;  and  thus  make  up  in  policy,  the  policy  of  lit- 
tleness and  slander,  what  they  want  in  education, 
religion,  knowledge,  and  talents.  So  abominable 
is  it  to  set  up  for  a  colonel's  or  a  general's  place 
in  the  church,  when  we  possess  only  the  capacities 
of  imbecility,  envy,  avarice,  sycophancy,  and  par- 
tiality, to  fiil  them ;  when  this  is  the  case,  corrup- 
tion succeeds  to  reformation,  the  poor,  the  slave, 
and  the  stranger,  neglected  and  trampled  upon,  in 
the  church  and  the  state,  will  approximate  us  to 
the  European  aggrandizement  of  the  clergy;  and 
then  the  next  thing,  is  a  general  assessment  for 

preachers,  and  then- until  some  high 

toned  corrupter  introduces  civil,  through  religious 
and  military  despotism  ;  to  guard  against  which, 
let  us  arise  and  punish,  by  statute  law,  the  slan- 
derer, the  universal  thief  and  murderer,  without  in- 
fringing the  trial  by  jury,  or  the  safe  developement 
of  public  characters. 

If  a  man  stabs  at  you,  you  may  parry  it,  if  he 
shoots,  he  may  miss  you  ;  if  he  kills  you,  you  no 
more  feel  the  sting  of  death  ;  but  the  villainous  tale 
hits,  and  mortally  wounds  you,  whether  false  or 
true,  until  you  at  last  expire,  having  suffered  ten 
thousand  deaths.  What,  saith  the  crafty  maligner, 
do  you  think  of  a  man  who  did  so  ;  what,  said  the 
other  ?  oo  !  saith  he  or  she,  with  a  shrug,  like  a 
humped  up  crane  turning  up  the  white  of  his  eyes, 


65 

shivering  as  under  a  tertain  ague,  and  groaning  in 
malignant  hypocrisy  as  one  who  travaileth  !  And 
what  is  still  an  aggravation  of  the  evil  is,  that  al- 
though the  whisperer  stab,  shoot,  and  kill,  sticking 
his  or  her  tongue  in  your  heart  strings,  barbed  and 
poisoned,  though  they  steal  all  you  are,  or  ever 
shall  be  worth,  by  the  tongue  and  pen,  there  is  not 
a  single  law  equal  to  punish  them  ;  or,  if  you  call 
him  a  thief,  he  may  sue  and  recover  damages,  be- 
cause that  no  law  will  justify  such  an  epithet  to  a 
slandering  felon.  How  necessary,  then,  to  make  a 
beginning,  to  call  them  thieves  by  law,  and  let 
the  jury  mid  them  guilty  under  the  direction  of 
the  court. 

Rollin  informs  us,  that  "  the  false  accuser  was 
condemned  to  undergo  the  punishment  which  the 
person  accused  was  to  have  suffered,  had  the  accu- 
sation been  proved  ;"  certainly  he  is  a  murderer  at 
the  bar  of  conscience.  This  perfectly  agrees  with 
what  our  Lord  threatens  to  the  flint  hearted  slan- 
derer, saying,  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall 
be  measured  to  you  again  ;  and  the  prophet  Oba- 
diah  pronounces,  as  thou  hast  done,  so  it  shall  be 
done  unto  thee  ;  thy  rexvard  shall  return  upon  thine 
own  head.  Solomon  observes,  that  he  that  diggeth 
a  pit  shall  fall  into  it. 

The  restrictive  law  in  the  revised  code  of  Vir- 
ginia, vol.  i.  p.  294,  under  the  title  *  False  News,' 
is  a  weak  preventive Justice;  as  it  is  small  in  its 
penalty,  as  a  rule  of  remunerative  or  distributive 
justice.  That  act  makes  the  circulator  of  '  false 
news'  pay  only  forty  dollars,  and  binds  him  to  keep 
the  peace  if  he  does  not  give  up  the  author,  which 
is  but  a  weak  restraint  upon  the  Leviathan  slander  ; 
but  little  satisfaction  to  injured  society,  and  an 
unsatisfactory  cord  to  bind  the  hands  of  the  almost 

f2 


66 

ruined  person  from  taking  revenge.  Whereas, 
were  malicious  slander,  which  compasses,  which  in> 
teiids  death,  which  procures  killing,  punished,  as 
are  other  accessaries  to  murder,  there  would  then 
be  some  equivalence  in  the  penalty  to  the  crime, 
as  well  as  equality  and  impartiality  in  the  legisla- 
ture, the  code,  and  the  administration  of  justice. 
For  instance,  when  the  "  circulator  of  false  news," 
procures  the  chasing  of  a  man  off  from  his  home, 
his  property,  country,  and  friends,  or  is  circulated 
out  of  his  circulation,  by  being  stabbed,  shot,  poi- 
soned, or,  what  is  worse,  by  legal  murder,  through 
Luciferian  circulation  of  lies,  mammoth  truths,  or 
persons  bribed  into  circulations  by  the  power  of 
gold,  paper,  and  silver  circulating  mediums,  pro- 
curing cuts,  beatings,  batterings,  abu sings,  confis- 
cations, banishments,  breaking  off  marriages,  part- 
ing married  people's  hearts,  what  a  pop  gun  is  forty 
dollars  as  a  penalty  ?  Or,  when  slaves,  strangers, 
poor  bound  boys  and  girls,  lose  their  reputation  by 
irreputable  news  through  Satan's  eating,  drinking, 
laughing,  winking,  shrugging,  grinning,  nodding, 
grunting,  groaning,  whining,  cackling,  writing, 
singing,  canting,  praying  slanderers,  with  all  the 
signs  in  his  calumniating  signal  books,  and  tele- 
graphic dispatches,  you  might  as  well  look  for  the 
check  or  overthrow  of  false,  malicious,  or  inconsi- 
derate slanders  by  your  forty  dollar  penalty,  as  to 
expect  the  blowing  of  all  our  ships  of  war  out  of 
the  water,  with  all  our  brave  tars  within  them,  by 
the  far  fetched  breath  of  European  bulls,  bull  frogs* 
and  bull  dogs,  assisted  by  Algerines,  &.c.  Slander, 
as  the  behemoth  of  Job,  has  iron  loins,  gall  navel, 
sinews  of  spring  steel,  ribs  of  brass,  and  a  heart  of 
flint ;  or  like  great  Leviathan,  who  is  able  to  stand 
before  him  ?    Lay  thine  hand  upon  him,  remember 


67 

the  battle,  do  no  more.  Shall  not  one  be  cast  down 
even  at  the  sight  of  him?  None  is  so  fierce  that 
dare  stir  him  up  ;  who  then  is  able  to  stand  before 
him  ?  Who  can  discover  the  face  of  his  garment  ? 
Or  who  can  come  to  him  with  his  double  bridle  ? 
Who  can  open  the  doors  of  his  calumniating  face? 
His  ad^er  teeth  are  terrible  round  about ;  his  scales 
of  excuses,  supported  by  jury  decisions,  church 
oppressions,  and  neighbourhood  scandals,  for  de- 
famation, are  his  pride,  shut  up  together  in  civil 
and  religious  hypocrisy,  as  with  a  close  seal ;  one 
excuse  (like  the  scales  of  LeviatharO  is  so  near  to 
another,  that  as  no  air  can  come  between  the  scales 
of  the  one,  so  no  law,  jury,  nor  penalty,  can  come 
between  the  excuses  and  exculpations  of  the  other  ; 
for  the  whisperer's  apologies  are  so  closely  com- 
pacted one  to  another,  that  they  stick  together  so 
that  they  cannot  be  sundered  ;  by  his  sneezings,  a 
false  light  doth  shine  as  an  ignis-fatitus,  and  his 
eyes,  to  the  credulous,  suspicious,  and  ambitious, 
are  like  the  eye  lids  of  the  morning ;  out  of  his 
slandering  mouth  go  burning  lamps,  fed  by  gall, 
wormwood,  and  ratsbane,  blackening,  burning, 
and  poisoning  the  atmosphere,  while  sparks  of  fire 
leap  out  from  the  tongue  ;  out  of  his  snorting  nos- 
trils goeth  a  sneering  smoke,  as  out  of  a  seething 
pot  or  caldron,  or  a  clattering  steam  boat  of  hell, 
bursting  and  scalding  all  around  ;  his  hypocritical, 
tarnishing  breath  kindleth  the  coals  of  anger,  ma- 
lice, wrath,  guile,  envy,  jealousy,  and  revenge,  and 
a  flame  goeth  out  of  his  mouth  set  on  fire  of  hell, 
and  productive  of  a  world  of  iniquity,  as  though 
hell  and  earth  had  the  cholera  morbus  of  implaca- 
ble bitterness.  In  his  selfish,  stiff  neck  remaineth 
strength,  and  joy  is  turned  into  sorrow,  into  the 
shadow  of  death  before  him ;  the  flakes  of  his  con- 


68 

catenated  malignity  are  joined  together  ;  they  are 
firm  in  themselves,  and  supported  by  Abaddon's 
pandemonium  phalanx,  so  that  they  cannot  be 
moved  ;  the  slanderer's  heart  is  as  firm  as  a  stone ; 
yea,  as  hard  as  a  piece  of  the  nether  mill  stone, 
"  double  hooped  with  flint,"  with  a  steel,  poison- 
ed, serpentine  tongue.  When  slander  raiseth  up 
himself,  the  mighty  are  afraid ;  the  sword  of  him 
that  laveth  at  him,  cannot  hold  for  want  of  law  and 
merciful  churches  ;  the  spear  of  conscience,  the 
dart  of  common  law  and  revenge,  nor  the  haber- 
geon of  God's  eternal,  vindictive,  just  remunera- 
tion ;  for  he  estetmeth  the  iron  hand  of  law  as 
straw,  and  the  brass  ot  conscience  as  rotten  wood. 
The  darts  of  education  and  public  opinion,  unsup- 
ported by  statute,  are,  by  him,  counted  as  stubble  ; 
lie  laugheth  at  the  shaking  of  the  spear  of  the  mon- 
ster, death  ;  sharp  stones  are  under  his  rough  shod 
feet ;  he  spreadeth  sharp  pointed  railings  and  revil- 
ings  upon  the  mire  of  the  muddy  circles  in  which 
he  moves  through  church  and  state  ;  he  maketh  the 
deep  of  this  malicious  world  by  the  buckets  of  his 
steam  boat  slander,  to  boil  withamaddenningrage, 
like  the  devil's  brew  pot ;  he  maketh  the  sea  of  this 
collected,  inflated,  muddled  universe  smooth  and 
slow,  by  bribes  and  friends,  for  his  defamatory  pur- 
poses, like  a  pot  of  ointment ;  he  maketh  thick 
darkness  after  him — a  darkness  which  blinds,  ad- 
mits of  no  dissipating  light — a  darkness  which 
may  be  felt ;  one  would  think  the  deep  to  be  hell. 
"  O  Cataline,  how  long  shall  we  bear  with  you  ?" 
O  that  the  Hercules  of  the  law  and  the  Gospel, 
may  conquer  the  hydra  slander  upon  the  fields  of 
equal  justice,  mercy,  and  truth. 

"  Troy  soon  shall  wake,  with  one  avenging  blow 
Crush  the  dire  author  of  its  country's  woe." 


69 

Among  which,  let  us  take  notice  of  the  unjust 
coward's  previous  question. 

Doth  our  law  judge  any  one  before  it  hear  him, 
(saith  Nicodemus)  and  know  what  he  doeth? 
John  vii.  51.  What  is  it  to  hear  and  know  ?  Hear 
also  Jesus.  "  It  is  also  written  that  the  testimony 
of  two  men  is  true."  John  viii.  17.  What  is  tes- 
timony ?  Certainly  not  hearsay  evidence  ;  for  saith 
M'Nally  upon  evidence,  the  sixth  rule  is,  that 
hearsay  is  no  evidence ;  hearsays  are  lies,  are  ma- 
licious and  inconsiderate  truths  circulated  from, 
and  for  the  devil's  four  courts  of  unmercifulness, 
cruelty,  hypocrisy,  and  injustice.  A  witness  is 
sworn  to  tell  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth  : 
"  He  must  not  be  a  council  or  attorney  of  either 
party,  or  interested  in  the  event  of  the  cause." — 
Abridgement  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  by 
William  Graydon,  esq.  p.  248. 

Now,  Mr.  and  Misses  whisperers,  put  your 
signgiving  hands  to  your  hearts  and  say,  Lord,  if 
it  takes,  according  to  the  Saviour  of  men,  the  tes- 
timony of  two  men  to  make  the  truth,  two  sworn 
men,  sworn  before  a  court,  cross  examined,  con- 
fronted by  their  antagonists  and  impleaders,  O, 
how  wickedly  have  I  taken  the  cackling  of  one 
half,  or  one  fourth  grown  girl  or  blundering  boy  ? 
And  to  aggravate  my  iniquity,  have  been  interested 
in  the  event  of  the  slandering  tale  !  The  acritude 
of  the  itch  for  slander  produces  the  scab  of  dis- 
grace, vitriolizes,  heats,  and  burns  the  moral  pal- 
ate, sharpens  and  turns  the  jaws  into  the  biting  hy- 
draphobia,  thereby  communicating  through  the 
maddening  saliva  of  the  mouth,  the  plague  of  rac- 
ing, prattling,  growling,  biting,  and  worrying  all 
within  our  defamatory  reach  upon  all  favorable  op- 
portunities.    Talebearing  taints,  by  its  putrescent 


70 

qualities,  the  whole  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere, 
thereby  (as  the  fabled  Upas  of  Jaya,)  rendering  poi- 
sonous the  respiration  of  all  circles.  It  is  the  off- 
spring of  the  universal  spleen  of  the  heart,  regur- 
gitating bile  of  the  liver,  and  quinsy  of  the  throat ; 
'tis  Lucifer's  hydraulics,  or  poisonous  bilge  water 
poured  and  pumped  forth  from  the  alimentary  ca- 
nals of  hell,  thus  inundating  the  church  and  state 
with  the  overflowings  of  his  highest  rectified  im- 
placability !  It  ascends  through  his  patent  pump, 
the  throat,  by  the  poisonous,  ceaseless  lever,  or 
pendulum  of  the  tongue,  pen,  and  pencil.  The 
direful  contagion  whereof,  when  inhaled,  produces 
a  barking  tetter,  more  deadly  than  the  juice  of  the 
"  cursed  hebenon  distilled"  which  caused  the 
murder  of  Hamlet,  king  of  Denmark,  by  pouring 
it  into  the  porches  of  his  ears ;  for  it  is  infectious. 
Slander  vitiates  the  heart,  intoxicates  the  head,  and 
establishes  perpetual  motion  in  the  tongue,  scat- 
tering firebrands,  arrows,  and  death  universally 
therefrom  !  It  is  Abaddon's  compound  mechanics, 
his  lever,  wedge,  pully,  screw,  and  incline  plain, 
by  which  (as  Archimedes  professed  he  could,)  he 
shakes,  shocks,  convulses,  and  tears  in  pieces  both 
earth  and  sea  !  'Tis  his  chymist  to  mix,  and  phy- 
sician to  convey  the  subtle  fluid  to  the  pulpit, 
press,  bar,  and  statehouse  ;  and  his  mortifying  sy- 
ringe to  squirt  the  muddy,  foetid,  putrid  waters  of 
obloquy.  It  is  Satan's  vat  to  tinge,  stain,  and  give 
a  new  color ;  his  limner,  to  transform,  by  diabol- 
ical metamorphoses,  both  vice  into  virtue,  and  vir- 
tue into  the  deepest  tincts  of  vice  ;  his  optician,  to 
hear  and  see  through  Luciferian  optics,  all  bodies 
multiplied  and  magnified  into  the  greatest  hyper- 
boles !  His  muddy,  inflated,  wet  dock  of  strife, 
contention,  misrepresentation,  theft,  and  murder, 


71 

in  which  his  bigoted,  partial  high  priests  of  calum- 
ny, immerse  the  fallen  sons  and  daughters  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  from  which  they  immerge  tenfold  more 
the  children  of  hell,  than  before  their  descent  into 
that  contaminating  mud  pool  of  the  misrepresenta- 
tion of  moral  landscapes  !  'Tis  his  clerk,  to  libel 
by  private  and  public  satires  and  lampoons  to  satu- 
rity  ;  his  orator,  to  calumniate  ;  postofficer,  to  re- 
ceive, register,  tie  up,  and  seal ;  and  driver,  to 
carry  mails,  nods,  puns,  whispers,  letter  bags,  &c. 
Throughout  every  angle  and  triangle  of  Abad- 
don's race  ground,  from  a  novel-reading  room  to 
church  and  state  caucus's.  'Tis  his  pedler,  to 
trade  in  talebearing,  whispering,  and  dividing  chief 
friends  ;  his  dog,  to  bark  at  and  worry  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent  reputations ;  bull,  to  bellow  and 
goar;  cat,  to  mew,  jump,  and  tear  bond  and  free, 
and  cat's  paw  for  others.  'Tis  his  church  gossip- 
per,  and  state  lickplate.  Slander  is  a  night  owl, 
to  prowl  for  his  Satanic  majesty  ;  to  pursue,  seize, 
and  kill,  making  feathers  and  flesh  fly  !  His  hypo- 
critical crockadile,  to  weep  over  its  helpless  prey, 
crying  u  L-o-r-d  p-i-t-y  t-h-e-m ;"  yet  all  the 
while  stabbing  like  Joab  ;  such  tears  are  enough 
to  scald  a  crockadile.  A  brawling  backbiter  brays 
like  Satan's  ass,  prays  as  his  saint ;  for  those  whom 
she  drowns  in  a  cup  of  tea,  or  a  glass  of  julap; 
some  railers  roar,  tear,  and  slay  by  wholesale  and 
retail ;  others  blate  as  a  goat,  whine  as  a  dear  little 
1-a-m-b  ;  whisper  as  a  pure  nymph  ;  speak  fine  as 
a  humming  bird,  for  some  silk -furred  cacklers, 
who  have  been  baptised  in  the  Satanic  milk  of 
roses,  are  accustomed  to  cut  throats  by,  and  upon 
doany  pillows  with  a  hiss,  whizzing  out  at  last 
like  the  rakings  of  Satan's  stagnated  sewers  strengh- 
ening  the  air.     A  slandering  Balak  puts  out  the 


72 

eyes  with  a  bribe  ;  backbiting  Balaam  curses  for 
it ;  it  makes  a  Peter  dissemble,  a  Judas  betray  his 
master,  and  Diotrephes  strive  for  pre-eminence  ; 
Alexander,  the  coppersmith,  slandered  Paul  for 
money  ;  Porphyry,  Voltaire,  and  Hume  slandered 
from  an  enmity  to  Christianity  :  none  of  whom 
could  be  depended  upon,  where  either  Christ  or  a 
priest  was  concerned.  Slander  is  the  devil's  trum- 
peter, to  blow  up  discord,  sounding  charges  upon 
life,  liberty,  and  personal  security  from  a  windy 
Xantippe  in  the  kitchen,  up  to  a  thundering  lion  in 
the  chair,  or  upon  the  throne  of  a  Ccesar ;  it  al- 
ways fulfils  the  old  maxim,  "  he  who  acts  by  ano- 
ther, acts  for  himself."  'Tis  Satan's  cable,  spun 
and  twisted  upon  the  whispering  ropewalks  of  hell, 
one  strand  of  which  is  the  raiser,  the  second,  the 
receiver,  and  the  third,  the  publisher.  In  short, 
it  is  a  universal,  sleepless  robber,  firebrand,  and 
murderer,  which,  when  supported  by  power  in  the 
reigns  of  Nero  and  Dornitian,  procured  the  mur- 
der of  five  thousand  Christians  each  day,  for  years  ; 
it  cuts  off  the  wheat,  burns  up  grain,  chaff,  and 
stubble ;  before  it  is  Eden,  behind  it  a  desolate 
wilderness.  A  horse  thief  is  honest,  the  pick- 
pocket a  trash  thief,  the  profane  reverend,  drunk- 
ard sober,  fornicator  virtuous,  and  even  the  mur- 
derer merciful,  when  compared  with  the  slanderer, 
whose  villainy  is  called  a  world  of  iniquity,  setting 
on  fire  the  course  of  nature  ;  it  is  an  assemblage  of 
all  sin,  a  concretion  of  every  vile  passion,  of  hatred, 
variance,  strife,  emulation,  wrath,  envy,  pride,  van- 
ity, malice,  guile,  hypocrisy,  all  evil  speaking,  re- 
venge, and  murder.  As  then  it  takes  an  assem- 
blage of  all  the  criminal  passions,  intentions,  and 
actions  to  complete  the  character  of  a  slanderer,  he 
must  be,  he  is  the  greatest  of  all  sinners,  the  most 


73 

universal  and  sleepless  felon  and  murderer  !  Why 
then,  do  legislators  punish  other,  smaller,  and 
who  may  be  denominated  trash  thieves,  robbers, 
horse  thieves,  burners  and  assassins,  by  fixed,  de- 
fined statutes  ;  while  they  leave  such  enormous, 
extraordinary,  malefic,  mischievous,  hurtful,  bad, 
destructive  murderers,  to  the  discretionary  juris- 
diction of  a  jury,  without  statutary  penalties,  ail  of 
whom  may,  and  often  have  been,  and  yet  may  be, 
either  ignorant  of  equal  justice,  partial,  prejudiced, 
or  otherwise  corrupted.  Merciful  and  just  hea- 
ven, stir  up  the  people  and  their  representatives  to 
rise,  in  remunerative  majesty,  against  this  all  de- 
vouring, all  malefic  passion,  or  concretion  of  every 
iniquity,  which,  while  other  sins,  like  Saul,  have 
slain  their  thousands,  it,  like  David,  has  slain  its 
tens  of  thousands,  has  opened  its  ponderous  jaws, 
its  unsatiated,  fiery  throat,  like  the  grave,  like  hell, 
to  swallow  up  all  that  is  untarnished,  feasting  its 
envious  eyes,  and  green  malevolent  lips,  upon  all 
that  is  called  man,  like  a  universal  cannibal  ! 

What  a  desolation  in  domestic  happiness  would 
succeed  to  a  developement  of  all  the  criminal  facts 
of  which  doctors  and  lawyers  are  in  possession, 
were  doctors  especially  to  betray  their  trust  ?  And 
what  a  noble  lesson  is  hereby  taught  to  the  minis- 
ters of  mercy  and  peace,  to  so  far  imitate  the  ex- 
ample of  stili-tongued  benevolent  Rushites,  as  not 
to  tarnish  the  pulpit  with  obloquy  and  fiery  defa- 
mations against  other  societies,  as  also  to  abstain 
from  the  circulation  of  mischievous  tales,  and  the 
receiving  of  private  communications,  the  revela- 
tion of  which  is  called,  in  Scripture,  working  ill  to 
our  neighbour,  dividing  chief  friends,  and  breaking 
through  the  restraints  of  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
A  slanderous,  smuggling,  hypocritical  pirate,  car- 

G 


7* 

ries  the  watch  words  and  signals  of  virtue  and  reli- 
gion, as  the  sea  smuggler,  picaroon,  or  robber  does 
those  of  all  nations. 

Have  you  heard  such  a  thing?  is  one  of  the 
backbiter's  watch  words.  O,  did  you  hear  ?  ano- 
ther. I'll  tell  you  something,  a  third.  A  fourth 
cries,  will  you  tell  if  I  tell  you  a  fine  trick  ?  Saith 
a  fifth,  "  O,  I  have  found  them  out."  A  sixth, 
don't  tell.  Lord  pity  that  poor  sot,  saith  a  white 
eyed  railer.  O,  saith  another,  I  know.  Gracious 
heaven !  cries  a  high  eyed  reviler,  do  you  tell  me 
so  ?  "  They  are  all  hypocrites"  saith  a  tossing 
nosed  defamer.  "  I'll  be  bound,"  said  an  old 
wrinkled  faced  puckerer.  u  Phet,"  saith  a  sharp 
nosed  gobbler,  '  she  always  was  a  brawler.'  L-a-w, 
squealed  a  nimble  rainbow  cackler,  she  is  a  hypo- 
crite, and  he  is  a  drunkard.  I  d-e-c-1-a-r-e,  saith 
an  arch  quiverer,  I  never  hide  their  faults.  Pugh, 
pegh,  hugh,  hegh,  hagh,  ha,  ha,  ha !  say  others. 
Wicked  sinners,  cried  a  long  toned  slanderer,  every 
word  a  foot  and  a  half  long.  Some  grunt,  others 
groan,  others  begin  to  cry  whew  !  hay  !  Lord,  I 
think,  cries  out  a  cunning  whisperer,  a  rascal  ought 
to  be  known.  And  then  for  the  signals — such  as 
bending,  twisting,  leaning,  peeping  and  muttering 
like  witches  ;  for  they  never  can  act  nobly  or  man- 
ly, never  stand  straight;  winking,  shrugging, 
puckering  the  face,  wrinkling  up  the  nose,  like 
dog  shaking  a  hog's  entrails,  filling  the  corners  of 
their  eyes  with  wrinkles,  shewing  the  teeth  and 
red  gums,  laughing  at  sinking  reputations;  tot- 
tering and  quivering  the  shoulders,  crookening 
their  claws,  startling  out  the  eye  balls,  humping  up 
the  back  bone,  and  stretching  out  the  neck  and  bill, 
like  cranes  catching  fish.  Also  behold  them  fre- 
quenting the  houses  of  Dons,  slighting  the  poor, 


a 


75 

the  stranger,  the  ignorant,  and  the  independent  in 
sentiment ;  they  are  altarscrapers  for  favoritism, 
on  high  places  in  synagogues,  giving  invitations 
to  the  influential,  and  reciprocating  them  with  adu- 
lation. In  a  word,  this  world  is  their  God.  They 
are  bribers,  and  may  be  bribed  in  church  and  state  ; 
and  one  certain  mark  of  them  is,  that  they  have  an 
angled  eye  always  watching  to  give,  receive,  and 
send  abroad  double  rectified  squints  of  partiality, 
hypocrisy,  ambition,  obloquy  and  revenge.  O, 
brother  !  Ah,  sister  !  how  does  he  or  she  come  on 
now  ?  O,  ho,  ho,  bad  enough !  What,  drunk  ? 
Yes,  O  yes — and  they  have  done  worse.  Law  ! 
L-a-w  ! — tell  upon  them — have  them  out;  these 
last  words  were  by  a  tyrant.  Who  is  that  ?  saith 
the  devil's  turnkey,  pumping  out  mischief.  I  don't 
know  him  or  her,  answers  a  cunning  slanderer, 
hitching  up  his,  or  humping  up  her  forbidding 
shoulders,  and  shaking  the  head  as  a  spaniel  dog 
rising  out  of  the  water,  or  a  blowing  porpoise. 
You'll  find  out  the  rascal,  said  another.  I'll  be 
whipped,  responded  a  twitterer,  if  she  is  not  a 
strumpet,  and  he  a  rogue. 

Which  brings  us  to  the  next  point  proposed, 
namely : 

They  "  carry  tales  to  shed  blood ;"  meaning 
thereby,  you  have  a  kind  of  murderers,  who,  not 
having  the  heroic  spirit  of  the  highwayman,  or 
common  assassin,  slyly,  by  nods,  whispers,  winks, 
words,  and  letters,  destroy  men's  lives  as  effectu- 
ally as  though  done  by  lead,  steel,  halter,  pistol,  or 
pond. 

Let  us  never  forget  that  murder  is  hatred  of  man 
against  man,  amounting  to  that  state  of  evil  inten- 
tion which  wishes,  intends,  compasses,  and  ma- 
liciously procures  killing,  by  any   means   wjiat- 


76 

ever,  and  that  all  who  concur  in  such  unlawful 
acts,  whether  before  the  fact,  at  the  fact,  or  after 
the  fact,  in  aiding,  abetting,  comforting,  or  re- 
ceiving the  killers,  are  guilty  of  murder.  Apply 
this  to  historical  testimony,  the  arsenal  of  expe- 
rience, upon  the  facts  for  which  we  contend  ;  search 
we  beseech  you,  this  blood  stained  field  by  retro- 
spective experience,  and  the  horrific,  black,  dire- 
ful result  will  run  into  the  proof  of  the  words  of 
the  text,  they  "  carry  tales  to  shed  blood." 

Slander  is  a  combination  of  all  the  passions 
which  constitute  the  spirit  of  murder,  and  make  it 
a  capital  crime.  It  is  natural  hatred,  hatred  from 
envy,  from  interest,  vanity,  wrath,  strife,  sedition, 
voluptuousness,  malice,  implacability,  and  re- 
venge. The  devil,  whose  name  in  Greek,  as  say 
the  writers,  means  slanderer,  accuser,  destroyer; 
accused  God  to  man,  and  man  to  God  ;  how  like 
him  his  deceived  pupil  Adam  was,  is  evident  in  his 
slandering  Eve,  his  wife,  thinking  to  turn  king's 
evidence,  and  get  her  put  out  of  the  way,  as  many 
slanderers  and  other  murderers  have  attempted  to 
this  day  ;  which  villainy,  when  admitted  by  the 
law,  and  encouraged,  opens  a  door  for  the  accusa- 
tion, prosecution,  and  legal  murder  of  the  innocent, 
to  clear  the  guilty,  under  the  pretext  of  public 
good.  Thousands,  thousands  of  criminals  have, 
in  such  cases,  carried  tales  as  king's  and  states' 
evidence,  shedding,  according  to  our  text,  rivers 
of  tears  and  blood,  in  former  times.  Many  pro- 
phets and  righteous  men  have  been  swept  off  like 
a  flood  by  the  besom  of  slandering  tales  ;  even  our 
inimitably  innocent  Lamb  of  God  was  pierced  to 
the  soul  by  the  deadly  weapon,  which,  gathering 
into  a  national  and  ecclesiastical  storm,  cried  out  to 
the  constituted  authorities,  "  away  with  him,  away 


with  him  ;  crucify  him,  crucify  him  ;"  which  slan- 
dering hurricane  rolled  its  millions  of  Christians 
into  the  flames,  the  bosom  of  the  earth  and  sea,  in 
the  apostolical  ages,  and  those  of  the  father's  fol- 
lowing. 

Slander  is  like  the  cholera  morbus,  which  is  bile 
raised  to  the  highest  acrimony  after  the  hot  sum- 
mer months.  It,  therefore,  defiles  the  whole  man, 
is  a  world  of  iniquity,  productive  of  the  most  uni- 
versal desolation,  carries  tales  to  shed  blood,  and 
should  be  restrained  by  a  Be  it  enacted,  as  well  as 
a  Thus  saith  the  Lord. 

In  proof  of  the  necessity  of  such  restriction,  we 
shall  produce  a  few  biographical  cases  from  Cave's 
Lives,  vol.  ii. 

St.  Clemens,  bishop  of  Rome,  having  been  the 
means  of  the  conversion  of  Theodore,  a  noble  lady, 
and  afterwards  that  of  her  husband  Sisinnius,  a 
kinsman  and  favorite  of  the  emperor  Nerva,  the 
gaining  so  notable  a  person  over  to  Christianity 
swayed  several  others,  which  drew  upon  Clemens 
the  wrath  of  Torcutianus,  a  man  of  great  power  in 
the  then  reign  of  Trajan.  Torcutianus  stirred  up 
the  inferior  magistrates  of  Rome,  who  also  exas- 
perated the  people,  who  complained  to  Mamerti- 
nus,  prefect  of  the  city,  to  carry  tales  of  him  to  the 
emperor,  who  ordered  him  to  be  banished  to  the 
disconsolate  city  of  Cherson,  beyond  the  Pontic 
sea,  where,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  comforted  his 
banished  brethren,  and  brought  over  many  others  ; 
information  whereof  having  been  given  to  Trajan 
by  those  who,  according  to  our  text,  "  carry  tales 
to  shed  blood"  whereupon  Afidianus  was  dispatch- 
ed to  Cherson,  where  he  had  the  holy  man  carried 
out  on  board  a  ship,  and  thrown  into  the  depth  of 
the  sea,  the  waves  whereof  have  been  often  stumed 

g2 


78 

by  blood,  spilt  by  slandering  tales  !  How  many 
implacables,  as  those  Romans  were,  raise  a  slander- 
ing storm  of  dire  persecution,  when  a  great  infidel 
lady  or  gentleman  is  converted  ? 

In  the  reign  of  M.  Antoninus  and  L.  Verus, 
impudent  and  greedy  informers  for  revenge  and 
gain,  spoiled  and  vexed  the  innocent  Christians, 
crying,  "  away  with  the  impious  atheists  !  Let 
Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  be  sought  for.'' — 
Three  days  before  his  apprehension,  falling,  at 
night  as  he  was  at  prayer,  into  a  trance,  he  dreamed 
that  his  pillow  was  on  fire,  and  burned  to  ashes  ; 
which,  when  he  awakened,  he  told  his  friends  was 
a  prophetic  presage,  that  he  should  be  burned  alive 
for  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  blood  hounds  of 
slander,  impelled  by  a  thirst  for  murder,  tortured  a 
boy  to  discover  Polycarp,  who  met  the  covetous, 
talebearing  flatterers  as  the  light  of  the  morning 
spread  upon  the  mountains  of  calumniating  Gilboa; 
he  saluted  them  with  a  benign,  cheerful,  and  gen- 
tle countenance,  which  extorted  their  admiration 
and  astonishment,  who,  nevertheless,  after  their 
having  been  fed  by  the  bishop  of  Asia,  delivered 
him  to  the  proconsul,  who,  inferior  to  him  in  ta- 
lents and  learning,  had  him  burned  and  stabbed  to 
death  ;  being  another  full  proof  from  Ecclesiasti- 
cal history  of  the  truth  for  which  we  contend — "  in 
thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood ;"  or, 
as  the  original  marginal  Hebrew  has  it,  "  men  of 
slanders"  Many  such  attempts  have  been  made 
in  this  country,  but  eternal  glory  to  God,  he  has 
made  use  of  even  unbelievers  to  counteract  them. 
O  how  wicked,  how  sordid  has  been  the  religious 
avarice  of  ambitious  ministers,  upon  various  occa- 
sions, to  intercept,  persecute,  and  finally  extermi- 
nate their  supposed  rivals  in  sacerdotal  ascendancy  ! 


79 

Blocking  up  their  ports,  spoiling  their  tender  vines 
and  slaying  their  Gospel  children  between  the 
smooth  stones  of  the  brook !  !  A  further  proof, 
that  infidel  and  slanderous  assassination  produced 
the  murder  of  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  of  men. 
Cresens,  the  philosopher,  who  declined  the  chal- 
lenge of  Justin  to  debate  the  cause  of  Christianity 
with  him  before  the  Roman  senate,  burning  with 
envious  rage,  that  the  son  of  the  carpenter  should 
eclipse  his  glovv-wormship  in  fame,  argument,  and 
testimony,  raised  a  persecuting  storm  against  the 
learned  Justin,  whose  learning  and  success  sharp- 
ened the  cowardly  daggers  of  persecuting  infamy  ; 
incapable  to  contend  in  arms  against  the  gigantic 
Christian,  Cresens  attacked  him  with  all  the  viru- 
lence of  unsupportabie  unbelief,  (as  infidel  deists, 
and  imbecile  buffoons  do  to  this  day,)  accusing 
him  to  the  emperor  slyly  and  revengefully.  Jus- 
tin himself  had  publicly  told  the  emperor  what  he 
expected  should  be  his  end ;  that  he  looked  that 
Cresens,  or  some  of  their  titular  philosophers, 
should  lay  snares  to  undermine,  torment,  or  cru- 
cify him.  Nor  was  he  at  all  mistaken  ;  the  envi- 
ous man  procuring  him  to  be  cast  into  prison, 
where  he  was  exercised  with  many  preparatory  tor- 
tures before  his  martyrdom.  He  was  brought  be- 
fore Rusticus,  prefect  of  the  city.  The  governor 
pronounced  the  following  sentence  :  "  They  who 
refuse  to  sacrifice  to  the  Gods,  and  obey  the  impe- 
rial edict,  let  them  be  first  scourged,  and  be  behead- 
ed, according  to  the  laws."  He  and  six  other  holy 
men  rejoiced  and  blessed  God  ;  were  led  to  prison, 
scourged,  and  beheaded  by  the  effects  of  slander. 

Another  slandering  tale,  productive  of  murder, 
was  carried  by  an  enemy  of  Christ  to  the  Roman 


80 

emperor,  to  deprive  a  Christian  philosopher  of  re- 
putation and  life. 

Dionysius,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  of  very  nota- 
ble parentage,  great  learning,  piety  and  general 
usefulness,  was  accused  by  an  arch  Egyptian  ma- 
gician and  slanderer,  to  the  emperor  Valerian,  of 
execrable  charms,  associated  with  other  Christians, 
inasmuch  as  they  and  he  thereby  hindered  the  em- 
peror's prosperity,  and  this  Egyptian  so  artfully 
colored  his  malicious  invectives,  as  to  make  the 
emperor  believe  that  the  miracles  the  Christians 
wrought  were  the  power  of  abstracting  the  mis- 
chievous daemons,  whose  malevolent  influences 
they  banished  with  the  speaking  of  a  word  ;  where- 
upon edicts  were  every  where  published  against 
them,  and  they,  without  the  least  protection,  were 
exposed  to  the  common  rage,  persecution,  and  ex- 
termination. iEmilian,  the  governor,  cried  to 
Dion}  sins,  the  learned,  in  a  horific  rage,  "  begone  to 
the  place  allotted ;"  when  sentence  was  speedily 
executed  upon  this  great  Christian,  Platonic  phi- 
losopher, and  divine,  who  was  banished  to  Cephro, 
the  most  rude  and  barbarous  tract  of  the  Lyhian 
desert.  Here  was  banishment  by  slandering  "  tales 
to  shed  blood  ;"  and  O,  tell  it  not  in  Gath,  even  in 
this  land  of  equal  blood,  and  unalienable  rights  ;  of 
toleration  and  religious  protection,  there  are  many 
places  where  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is  suspected 
and  accused  of  insurrectious  principles,  and  if  an 
insurrection  break  out  in  a  county,  it  is  ten  to  one 
but  some  of  the  creatures  of  persecuting  unbelie- 
vers implicates  a  minister.  The  attempts  against 
night  meetings  in  some  parts,  invasive  of  tolera- 
tion ;  and  the  struggle  of  a  minute  minority  in  an 
extra  session,  in  Virginia,  to  make  preachers  bear 
arms,  is  recorded. 


81 

From  the  preceding  narrations,  we  have  the  full- 
est evidence  that  one  slanderer  can  produce  more 
killing  than  ten  thousand  men  with  knives,  ropes, 
pistols,  and  all  the  instruments  of  death,  especially 
as  they  have  so  many  millions  of  accessories  ;  it  is 
upon  this  account  that  slander  is  called  a  world  of 
iniquity,  for  it  was  the  means  of  the  destruction  of 
millions  of  Jews  and  Christians  by  the  calumnies  of 
Heathen  philosophers.  No  doubt  they  all  plead 
the  truth,  nothing  but  the  truth  ;  they  had  it  from 
persons  who  told  the  truth  at  all  times,  if  you  be- 
lieve them — that  is  to  say,  whipping  truths,  steal- 
ing truths,  robbing  truths,  murdering  truths,  truths 
to  prevent  a  backslider  to  get  work,  to  get  a  wife 
or  husband,  when  they,  by  being  slanderers  are  the 
greatest  of  all  backsliders  ;  murdering  truths,  car- 
rying tales  called  truth,  yet  mixed  with  malice,  to 
shed  blood.  But  if  these  are  truths,  then  the  in- 
spired Moses  and  the  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  apostles,  are  all  arrant  liars.  Liars,  for  what  do 
you  say  ?  Why  for  teaching  that  truths,  which 
militate  against  our  neighbour's  character,  happi- 
ness and  life,  are  disagreeable  to  the  law  oi  love  and 
truth,  or  *'  mercy  and  truth  met  together"  and 
that  they  are  double  distilled  lies  under  the  garb  of 
religious  truth — that  is  to  say,  maliciously  reli- 
gious. We  say,  we  contend  that  a  man  might  as 
well  attempt  to  impose  the  worst  New-England 
taffy  upon  us  for  the  best  Antigua,  because  he  ran 
it  through  a  cold  copper  West- India  still,  full  of 
verdigris,  put  it  into  Yankee  casks,  and  wrote  in 
fine  letters,  "  West  India"  upon  the  head  of  them, 
as  for  a  slanderer  to  pass,  without  detection,  mali- 
cious truths,  (which  are  nothing  but  the  devil's 
lies  double  rectified,)  in  his  or  her  talebearing 
casks,  because  they  bore  the  lying  brands  of  moral- 


82 

ity,  public  and  private  good,  and  gospel  upon  their 
slandering  heads,  painted  by  the  devil's  patent 
limners. 

Slandering  truths  are  nothing  else  but  war  in 
disguise  against  the  peace  of  society,  population, 
conjugal  unity,  moral  principle,  and  religion,  which 
we  prove  by  producing,  a  second  time,  the  lan- 
guage and  nature  of  revealed  truth. 

Let  God  be  true,  and  every  one  who  contradicts 
him  will  be  found  a  liar.  Rom.  iii.  4.  The  word 
of  God  is  the  word  of  truth.  Thy  law  (saith  Da- 
vid) is  the  truth.  Psalm  cxix.  142.  What  is  the 
truth  of  God,  the  slandering  opposition  to  which 
brands  every  man  and  woman  with  the  justly  me- 
rited epithet  of  a  liar  ?  Answ.  Thou  shalt  not  go 
up  and  down  as  a  talebearer.  Lev.  xix.  16.  Who- 
soever, under  the  pretext  of  religious  zeal,  violates 
this  negative  command,  thou  shalt  not,  is  a  liar 
against  revelation,  although  the  person  was  drunk 
whom  he  named,  or  angry,  or  fought,  or  swore,  or 
lied,  or  played  the  harlot ;  it  being  evident  that  as 
in  the  Psalm  quoted,  Thy  laxv  is  truth,  an  indica- 
tion of  an  universal  scriptural  truth  is  offered  upon 
the  principle  of  the  analogy  of  faith,  of  the  nature 
of  all,  therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would,  to  the  eter- 
nal exclusion  of  what  we  would  not  have  spoken, 
were  we  to  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves. — 
Again,  That  which  is  opposite  to  falsehood  and 
error  is  the  truth:  In  this  sense  the  law  and  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  are  the  truth.  0  Lord,  all  thy 
commandments  are  the  truth.  Psalm  cxix.  151. 
One  of  which  is,  If  thy  brother  sin,  tell  him  be- 
tween thee  and  him  alone.  Matt,  xviii.  15.  Note, 
he  did  not,  like  slandering  liars,  pretending  truth, 
and  blubbering  out  slander,  tell  you  to  tell  a 
preacher  or  elder ;  therefore,  they  are  liars  against 


83 

revealed  truth,  who  act  the  contrary.  /  have  walk- 
ed in  thy  truth.  Psalm  xxvi.  3  ;  that  is,  in  cover- 
ing a  multitude  of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8  ;  not  telling 
upon  wicked  s-i-n-n-e-r-s.  Love  cover eth  all  si?is. 
Prov.  x.  12.  Is  this  the  truth  ?  Well  then,  the 
uncovering  of  all  sins  is  a  lie  against  the  truth. 
/  will  praise  even  thy  truth,  O  my  God.  Psalm 
lxxi.  22.  What  truth,  Mr.  Backbiter,  do  you 
think  ?  What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Hope-the-best  ? 
Why,  please  your  bespattering  majesty,  it  is — O, 
say  you,  I  have  you — yes,  like  the  fool  in  Maske- 
rello,  you  have  caught  yourselves.  No,  no,  let  us 
have  it  out  of  the  wallet — the  cat  out  of  the  wallet, 
we  suppose  you  mean  as  the  slanderer's  mew  and 
jump  has  it — let  it  come  then  :  "  Mercy  and  truth 
are  met  together;  righteousness  and  peace  have 
kissed  each  other."  Psalm  lxxxv.  10.  Now,  Mr. 
Slandering  tell- truth,  telltale,  tell  malice,  tell  mur- 
der, until  you  can  prove  that  your  malignant  truths 
have  mercy,  righteousness,  public  and  private 
peace  in  intention  and  action  united,  we  shall  take 
the  liberty  to  christen  your  truth  of  the  devil  a  lie 
against  mercy  and  truth  met  together,  against  right- 
eousness and  peace  as  kissing  each  other ;  for  it 
takes  mercy,  truth,  righteousness,  and  peace  to 
make  truth  ;  therefore,  a  slandering  truth  is  a  dou- 
ble rectified  lie  against  truth.  The  slanderer  holds 
the  truth  in  unrighteousness.  Pom.  i.  18,  by  slan- 
dering instead  of  forgiving  ;  for,  in  order  to  do  our 
duty,  we  must  either  sue  or  forgive — sue  like  a 
lawyer,  forgive  like  a  God,  or  slander  like  a  devil. 
That  is  to  say,  by  the  defamation  of  the  bar,  the 
slander  of  a  bigoted  pulpit,  cackling  of  china  cups, 
quilting  frames,  drawing  rooms,  bed  chambers, 
carriages,  and  other  gossipping  assemblies  ;  like 
the  religious  whiner  to  a  roguish  receiver  in  jthe 


84 

church  and  state,  to  nod,  wink,  and  receive  the 
Gospel  favoritism,  or  by  tumbling  up  stumbling 
tales  of  falling  spirits  and  wine,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  go  tilting  along,  upsetting,  petting,  fretting, 
besetting,  netting,  slaying,  and  damning  hecatombs 
of  reputations  in  and  out  of  the  Church,  and  then 
sing  new  Jerusalem.  Do  these  things,  we  say, 
rocking,  twisting,  praying,  and  blubbering  all  the 
while  the  old  style,  or  other  wise,  restore  your  bro- 
ther in  the  spirit  of  meekness*  as  GaL  has  it,  teli 
him  between  thee  and  him,  (not  to  a  preacher,  ru- 
ler, or  others,)  as  Matt,  xviii.  15,  has  it.  If  any 
man  have  a  quarrel  against  any  for,  as  the  marginal 
Hebrew  has  it,  a  complaint ;)  forgive  him  even  as 
God,  for  Christ  sake,  hath  forgiven  you.  CoL  iii. 
13.  Yes,  sue  like  a  raspish  lawyer,  slander  as  a 
devil,  or  forgive  as  a  God — From  which  digres- 
sions we  shall  again  return  to  historical  testimony, 
the  storehouse  of  experience,  to  prove  that  slan- 
derers carry  "  tales  to  shed  bloody  as  saith  our 
text.  A  slanderer  has  no  pity,  but,  like  a  merci- 
less creditor,  seizes  his  fellow  servant  by  the  throat, 
while  the  sheriff  has  him  by  the  neck,  the  lawyer  by 
the  pocket,  the  jailer  by  the  legs,  the  hangman  by 
the  gallows,  and  the  devil  by  the  soul  and  body  in 
hell.  Such  were  the  Athenians  by  the  persecu- 
tion of  Phocian,  a  celebrated  Grecian  general, 
whom  they  elected  forty -five  times  to  lead  their 
victorious  armies,  and  then,  by  their  talebearing, 
slanderously  accused  him  of  treason,  because  he 
was  sometimes  seen  in  company  with  an  enemy  of 
Greece.  This  great  man  was  dragged  off  to  pri- 
son, tried  by  the  people,  and  forced  to  swallow  the 
hemlock  ;  his  dead  body  was  banished  out  of  At- 
tica to  Megara,  where  a  lady  collected  his  bones, 
conveyed  them  into  her  house  by  night,  and  bu- 


85 

ricd  them  under  her  hearth  with  these  expressions  : 
M  Dear  and  sacred  hearth,  I  here  confide  to  thee, 
and  deposite  in  thy  bosom  these  precious  remains 
of  a  worthy  man.     Preserve  them  with  fidelity,  in 
order  to  restore  them  hereafter  to  the  monument  of 
his  ancestors,  when  the  Athenians  shall  become 
wiser  than  they  are  at  present."     The  best,  the 
justest,  and  most  innocent  of  mankind,  (saith  Rol- 
lin)  will  sink  under  an   implacable  and  prevailing 
cabal.     This  Socrates  experienced  almost  a  hun- 
dred years  before  Phocian  perished,  by  the  same 
fate.     This  last  was  one  ot  the  greatest  men  that 
Greece  ever  produced,  in  whose  person  every  kind 
of  merit  was  united.     His  wife  boasted  to  a  vain 
Ionian  lady  of  rank,  who  asked  her  if  she  had  many 
ornaments,  in  the  following  words  :   "  For  my  own 
part,  I  have  no  ornament  but   Phocian,  who,  for 
these  twenty  years,  has  always  been  elected  gene- 
ral by  the  Athenians."     After  they  had  slandered 
him  to  death,  they  repented  of  their  tales ;    but 
what  good  can  such  tears  produce  ?    Can  they  re- 
store injured  innocence  ?    Can  they  raise  the  mil- 
lions of  their  slandered  dead?     The  constancy  of 
Phocian's  mind,  mildness  of  disposition,  and  for- 
getfulness  of  wrongs,  conspicuous  in  his  conduct 
on  that  occasion,  are  above  all  his  other  praises, 
and  infinitely  enhance  their  lustre,  especially  as  we 
shall  see  nothing  comparable  to  him  from  hence- 
forth in  the  Grecian  history.     His  infatuated  and 
ungrateful  country,  not  being  sensible  of  their  un- 
worthy proceeding  until  some  time  after  his  death, 
the  Athenians  then  erected  a  statue  of  brass  to  his 
memory,  and  honorably  interred  his  bones  at  the 
public  expense.  Rollin,  vol.  vii.     Not  one,  but  a 
benevolent  lady  of  Megara,  shewed  him  the  proper 
honor ;  and  perhaps  she,   like  Mary  Magdalene, 


86 

might  have  been  rather  a  cast  off;  yet  from  such 
(as  at  Simon,  the  whisperer's  table)  more  mercy 
and  politeness  is  to  be  expected,  than  from  one  in 
a  hundred  of  our  high  eyed,  proud  porpoises,  puf- 
fing out  their  cheeks,  moving  like  hogsheads,  with 
their  Herculian  bodies;  yes,  humped  up  twitte- 
rers  over  cups,  clattering  religious  gossippers,  prat- 
tling to  preachers  and  all  companies  against  their 
betters ;  more,  we  rejoin,  is  to  be  looked  for  from 
such  as  Mary,  than  from  fifty  prating  Peters  cry- 
ing, Who  is  that  ?  What  has  he  or  she  done  ? 
What  will,  or  Lord  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  Poor 
Phocian's  countrymen  would  not  contribute  a  sin- 
gle stick  of  wood  for  his  funeral  pile,  nor  even  suf- 
fer his  body  to  pollute  Attica.  And  yet,  strange 
to  tell,  ingratitude  was  publicly  punished  in  Athens 
by  law  !  His  accusers  suffered  a  punishment  equal 
to  their  desert  after  his  death  ;  but  the  chief  men 
escaped,  as  they  generally  do  when  they  have  ruined 
poor  natives  and  strangers,  by  raising  a  hue  and 
cry  !  !  With  all  these  things  before  us,  confirm- 
ing the  assertion  of  the  prophet,  "  in  thee  are  men 
that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood,"  who  is  so  blind  as 
not  to  see  and  acknowledge  the  national  necessity 
of  a  Be  it  enacted  by  the  general  assembly  of  each 
state,  that  when  by  writing  or  speaking  slanderous 
or  malicious  words,  with  the  intent  of  producing 
death,  such  killing  having  thereby  been  produced, 
and  it  appearing  upon  evidence  that  the  said  speak- 
ers and  writers  wilfully,  maliciously,  feloniously, 
and  wickedly  intended,  and  compassed  the  death 
of  the  person  or  persons  so  killed  ;  that,  therefore, 
such  malicious  slanderer,  or  slanderers,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  murder  as  accessories  before  the 
fact,  as  though  he  or  they  had  been  accessories  as 
in  other  cases  of  unjustifiable  homicide — Which 


87 

brings  us  to  the  next  thing  to  be  considered.  "  In 
thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood" 

This  is  the  employment  of  these  blood  hounds 
called  informers,  to  receive  half  or  whole  of  the 
state  reward  ;  such  hellish  harpies  were  banished, 
whipped,  and  put  to  death  by  Titus  Vespasian. 
Corrupt  times  produced  them,  and  none  but  mur- 
derers delight  in  these  "talcs  to  shed  blood  for 
gifts." 

When  David  fled  to  Naioth,  and  dwelt  there 
with  Samuel,  I  Sam.  xix.  18,  although  "  it  was 
a  school  or  college  of  learning  or  religion,  in  which 
place  the  persons  who  were  educated  were  devoted 
to  the  service  of  God,  whom  the  Scriptures  call 
prophets,  which  places,  in  those  times,  claimed  the 
privilege  of  a  sanctuary  ;"  yet  no  place  was  safe  or 
secure  from  the  effects  of  the  slanderous  informer's 
love  of  gain.  For  it  was  told  Saul,  saying,  "  be- 
hold, David  is  at  Naioth,  in  Ramah"  And  who 
knows,  but  that  one  of  the  priests  who  loved  money, 
was  hired  by  Saul  as  a  spy,  and  took  gifts  to  shed 
blood,  as  a  national  informer.  Many,  many  such 
there  are  that,  to  make  money,  will  descend  to  be  a 
lickplate  to  a  tyrant,  and  carry  tales  for  gifts,  to 
shed  the  blood  of  slaves.  Asia,  Africa,  and  Eu- 
rope furnish  us  with  thousands  of  such  cases. 

Slander  is  an  immeasurably  deep  and  wide  cal- 
dron, into  which  millions  of  innocents,  good,  bad 
and  indifferent  reputations  are  boiled,  for  food  to 
supply  the  "church  of  the  malignants."  Solomon 
saith  that  "  A  hypocrite,  with  his  mouth  destroyeth 
his  neighbour."  Prov.  xi.  9.  And  Prov.  xii.  6. 
"  The  words  of  the  wicked  are  to  lie  in  wait  for 
blood"  These  two  last  texts  have  been,  and  are 
amply  fulfilled.  A  hypocrite,  with  his  slandering 
mouth  and  pen,  destroyeth  his  neighbour's  life  by 


88 

exciting  jealousies,  and  his  words  lie  in  wait  or 
watch  for  blood  ;  but  "  a  wicked  messenger  (saith 
Solomon)  falleth  into  mischief."  Prov.  xiii.  17. 
This  text  is  proved  by  the  act  of  January  26th, 
1810,  entitled  An  act  to  suppress  duelling  in  Vir- 
ginia : 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  (of  Vir- 
ginia) That  any  person  who  shall  hereafter  wilful- 
ly and  maliciously,  or  by  previous  agreement,  fight 
a  duel  or  single  combat  with  any  engine,  instru- 
ment, or  weapon,  the  probable  consequence  of 
which  might  be  the  death  of  either  party,  and  in  so 
doing  shall  kill  his  antagonist,  or  any  other  person 
or  persons,  or  inflict  such  wound  as  that  the  person 
injured  shall  die  thereof  within  three  months  there- 
after, such  offender,  his  aiders,  abettors,  and  coun- 
sellors, being  duly  convicted,  shall  be  guilty  of 
murder,  and  suffer  death  by  being  hanged  by  the 
neck  ;  any  law,  custom,  or  usage  of  this  common- 
wealth to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  if  any  person  or 
persons  shall,  for  the  purpose  of  eluding  the  ope- 
rations of  the  provisions  of  this  law,  leave  the  state, 
the  person  or  persons  so  offending  shall  be  deemed 
as  guilty,  and  be  subject  to  the  like  penalties  as  if 
the  offence  had  been  committed  within  this  com- 
monwealth, or  of  aiding  or  abetting,  in  giving  or 
receiving  such  challenge,  and  a  duel  shall  actually 
be  fought,  whereby  the  death  of  any  person  shall 
happen  ;  or  if  any  person  shall  fight  a  duel  in  this 
state,  or  aid,  or  abet  therein,  whereby  any  person 
shall  be  killed,  and  then  flee  into  another  state  to 
avoid  his  trial,  in  either  case  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  executive  to  pursue  all  legal  steps  to  cause  any 
such  offender  to  be  apprehended  and  brought  to 
trial  in  the  county  where  the  offence  was  commit- 


89 

ted. — Supplement  to  the  second  vol  revised  code, 
page  43. 

Mark  well — the  words  "  And  shall  kill  his  an- 
tagonist,  or  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  injlict 
such  wound  as  that  the  person  shall  die  thereof 
within  three  months  thereafter  aiders,  and  abettors, 
in  giving  or  receiving  such  challenge,  shall  be  guilty 
of  murder."  Why  not,  then,  by  the  same  rule, 
hang  a  person  who  would  maliciously  carry  any 
slandering  tale  as  an  aider  and  abettor  to  murder  ? 
Especially  as  the  clause,  or  any  oilier  person  or 
persons,  (we  suppose  bystanders,  killed  by  chance 
medly,  is  meant)  indicates,  that  the  blowers  up  of 
discord  are  to  be  punished  with  death  for  killing  by 
chance.  As  we  say,  if  the  killing  "  his  antago- 
nist, or  any  other  person  or  persons"  not  his  an- 
tagonist or  antagonists,  or  inflict  such  wound  as 
that  the  person  injured  die  within  three  months,  be 
punished  with  death,  as  also  all  their  counsellors, 
aiders,  and  abettors ;  why  not'  equally,  yea,  more 
justly,  punish  the  sower  of  discord  between  man 
and  wife,  and  hang,  in  like  manner,  for  awakening, 
for  stirring  up  the  roaring,  the  murdering,  the  insa- 
tiate tyger  of  suspicion,  envy,  jealousy,  implaca- 
bility, and  revenge,  intending  by  such  mischievous 
tales,  the  blood,  the  taking  of  the  life  of  the  person 
or  persons  so  slandered?  Mark,  we  repeat,  the 
words  "  his  antagonist,  or  any  other  person  or  per- 
sons;"  surely  then,  if  u  other  person  or  persons" 
beside  the  antagonists  having  been  killed  upon  the 
duelling  ground  by  chance,  vfor  so  it  seems  to 
mean  by  the  words  other  or  others  J  is  just,  good, 
political  cause  of  hanging  principals,  aiders,  abet- 
tors, and  other  counsellors,  according  to  "  whoso 
slandereth  his  neighbour,  will  I  cut  off."  Psalm 
ci.  5.      Certainly,  then,    by  the  same  extention 

a2 


90 

of  the  same  principle  of  David  and  our  legislature, 
those  who  fetch  and  carry  tales  to  shed  blood,  to 
shed  blood  for  gain,  ought  equally  to  suffer  the 
same  death  upon  the  principle  of  equal  or  distribu- 
tive justice.  As  in  the  tragedy  of  Othello  by  Iago, 
in  Shakespeare,  wherein  a  man,  by  the  instigation 
of  slander,  was  stirred  up  to  jealousy,  like  a  roaring 
lion,  against  his  wife,  so  as  to  take  her  life  and  that 
of  others  ;  as  also  in  millions  of  other  historical 
cases,  when  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls  destroy- 
ed, and  shall  destro} ,  by  malicious  letters  and 
words,  those  who  are  the  objects  of  their  envious 
malignity.  What  objection,  then,  could  the  com- 
munity have  to  an  act  to  the  following  purport : 

AN  ACT 

Entitled  an  act  to  amend  the  several  acts  of  the  Le- 
gislature of  this  Commonwealth,  heretofore  pass- 
ed, and  for  the  more  effectual  punishment  of 
murder,  and  supplementary  to  the  act  entitled 
an  act  to  suppress  duelling. 

[Passed  January  26,  1810.]  Richmond,  Virginia. 

\V  HEREAS,  in  the  several  acts  passed  by  the 
legislature  of  this  Commonwealth  on  the  subject  of 
murder,  the  crime  was  denounced  in  general  terms, 
and  the  meaning  and  intent  of  all  acts  aforesaid 
were,  that  all  murderers  in  general,  by  whatsoever 
means  they  compassed  the  unlawful  death  of  any 
good  citizen  or  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth, 
-should  be  punished  capitally  ;  and  whereas,  it  is 
doubted  by  some  whether  the  person  is  liable  to 
such  punishment  who  wilfully,  wickedly,  and  of  ma- 
lice aforethought,  slanders  another  that  he  be  killed 
thereby  ;  and  whereas,  we  conceive  that  the  crime 


91 

of  murder  may  be  committed,  lias  been  commit- 
ted in  millions  of  cases,  and  is  just  as  detestable 
and  deserving  of  capital  punishment,  having  more 
accessories,  spreading  wider,  and  lasting  longer, 
when  committed  by  the  tongue  and  pen  than  by 
any  other,  and  every  instrument  of  death  ;  and 
whereas,  the  act  to  suppress  duelling  punishes 
slandering  accessories,  not  only  when  the  antago- 
nists are  killed,  but  also  •'  any  other  person;"  and 
whereas,  every  good  citizen  of  this  commonwealth 
is  entitled,  by  the  bill  of  rights,  and  the  constitu- 
tion of  this  state,  to  be  secured  in  the  enjoyment 
of  his  life,  liberty,  property,  and  reputation  ;  and 
whereas,  these  objects  are  thought  not  to  have  been 
sufficiently  guaranteed  by  the  present  state  of  so- 
ciety, from  the  manner  in  which  juries  are  often 
picked  and  packed — as  also,  from  many  of  their 
decisions  in  cases  of  slander  ;  and  whereas,  statute 
laws  enacted  by  the  whole  representation  of  the 
Commonwealth  are  more  safe,  being  more  collec- 
tive, deliberative,  uninfluenced,  wise,  defined,  lim- 
ited, and  independent,  than  are  those  of  such  small, 
and  often  unlearned  bodies  as  are  common  county 
courts  and  juries,  possessing  such  vast  and  discre- 
tionary powers.  In  order,  therefore,  to  explain  the 
true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  legislature  on  the 
subject — 

Be  it  therefore  enacted,  by  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Delegates  of  this  Commonwealth,  audit  is  here- 
by enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  from 
and  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  if  any  person  or 
persons  shall  wickedly,  wilfully,  and  of  malice 
aforethought,  slander  any  person  in  the  peace  of 
this  Commonwealth,  by  means  whereof  the  person 
or  persons  so  slandered  shall  come  to  their  death 
within  a  year  and  a  day  thereafter,  they  shall  be 


92 

considered  as  being  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree,  and  suffer  death  by  hanging  by  the  neck 
until  dead. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  on  the  trial  of  the 
issue  on  any  indictment  for  murder  aforesaid,  it 
shall  not  be  admitted  as  a  plea  in  justification  that 
the  malicious  words  spoken  were  true,  but  that  the 
person  having  so  maliciously  spoken  shall  be  held 
equally  guilty,  and  liable  to  hanging,  as  though  the 
words  were  false  ;  otherwise  malice  and  malicious 
murder  by  slander  would  be  patronized,  would  be 
legalized  by  statute. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  when  any  mali- 
cious slanderer  shall,  by  the  raising  or  circulation 
of  false  or  true  reports  be  the  means  of  so  operating 
upon  nice  sensibilities,  as  that  the  person  or  per- 
sons so  slandered  shall  weep,  lament,  and  hide 
from  society,  so  as  by  brooding  over  their  help- 
less, friendless,  unsupportable  load  of  grief  and  an- 
guish of  soul,  they  shall  languish  into  the  silent 
tomb,  no  more  to  hear  or  feel  the  voice  of  the  ma- 
lignant oppressor,  then  shall  such  relentless  ma- 
ligner  be  banished  from  the  society  of  the  civilized 
as  a  restless  and  implacable  incendiary. 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  minor  offen- 
ces committed  by  slander,  by  which  the  suffering 
party  shall  be  injured  in  his  or  her  good  name, 
fame,  or  property,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  judge, 
on  the  trial  of  the  same,  to  ascertain,  as  nearly  as 
may  be,  the  amount  in  money  of  the  damage  so 
sustained,  and  the  person  or  persons  found  guilty 
shall  be  condemned  to  the  penitentiary  in  the  same 
manner,  and  for  the  same  length  of  time,  as  for  lar- 
ceny, theft,  or  robbery,  committed  by  burglary, 
arson,  or  otherwise  :  Always,  nevertheless,  taking 
for  their  rule,  the  well  known  words  of  Shakes- 


93 

peare,  (as  they  do  not  seek  redress  by  due  course 
of  law,  but  by  slander,)  that  other  thieves  are  to  be 
considered  as  stealing  but  trash,  when  put  in  com- 
petition with  slandering  thieves,  character  burners, 
and  murderers  of  soul  and  body,  and  estate. 

Signed  by  the  constitutional  authorities,  Speak- 
ers and  Governor,  and  tested  by  the  Clerks,  March 
24th,  1 8 1 8 — Richmond. 

A  right  to  investigate  "  the  conduct  and  charac- 
ter of  our  public  agents,  who  are  the  trustees  and 
guardians  of  the  people,  and  who,  at  all  times,  are 
amenable  to  their  constituents,"  might,  is,  yea, 
ought,  nevertheless,  to  be  left  open,  to  guard  against 
innovation,  and  prevent  our  relapse  into  former  es- 
tablishments of  church  and  state  united. 

"  In  the  multitude  of  counsellors  there  is  safety." 
Prov.  xi.  14.     For  we  stand  in  need  of  not  only 
legislative  statutes,  but  also  judicial  explanations. 
"You  are  told,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  said  chief 
Justice  Parker,  (in  the  case  of  Phillips,  for  the  mur- 
der of  Dennegri,  at  Boston,)  "that  you  are  the 
judges  of  both  the  law  and  the  evidence  ;  practi- 
cally, gentlemen,  you  are  so  :  that  is  to  say,  a  gen- 
eral verdict  of  guilty  or  not  guilty  embraces  a  de- 
cision upon  the  facts,  and  upon  the  law  applicable 
to  those  facts.    But  you  will  not  differ,  gentlemen, 
from  the  opinions  and  decisions  of  wise  and  learn- 
ed men,  as  reported  in  our  books  of  law,  nor  from 
the  direction  of  the  court.     The  responsibility,  in 
regard  to  the  law,  rests  upon  the  court.     If  the 
court  mistake  the  principles  of  law,  and  the  jury 
under  that  direction,  bring  in  a  verdict  of  condem- 
nation ;  the  court,  gentlemen,  is  responsible,  and 
you  will  stand  acquitted  to  your  consciences." 
From  the  foregoing  reasoning  of  the  learned 


94 

Judge  Parker,  we  may  discover  first,  the  neces- 
sity of  statutary  laws  upon  all  cases,  leaving  it  to 
the  jury  to  find  a  general  verdict  of  guilty  or  not 
guilty,  embracing  a  general  decision  upon  the  facts, 
and  upon  the  law  applicable  to  those  facts  ;  second- 
ly, that  a  jury  never  was  designed  to  differ  from 
the  learned  reports  of  the  books  of  law,  as  explana- 
tory of  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  legislature ; 
thirdly,  that  the  responsibility  of  acting  up  to,  and 
explaining  the  law,  devolves  vpon  the  judges  ;  and 
fourthly,  that  if  the  court  mistake  the  true  princi- 
ples of  the  law,  of  which  they  are  to  be  the  judges, 
then,  consequently,  the  responsibility  resting  upon 
them,  the  jury  acts  conscientiously  by  going  ac- 
cording to  the  direction  of  the  court.  "  When- 
ever, (saith  Judge  Parker,)  a  person  attempts  to  do 
another  a  great  bodily  harm,  or  to  do  any  unlawful 
act,  and  death  ensues,  he  is  responsible  for  all  the 
consequences."  That  is  to  say,  any  felonious  > 
unlawful  act,  we  suppose  he  meant,  which  cer- 
tainly slander  is,  and  when  it  maliciously  intends, 
compasses,  and  produces  death,  ought  to  be  pun- 
ished with  death,  as  it  is  a  procurer  thereof,  and 
that  as  an  universal  cannibal !  "  An  ungodly  man 
diggeth  up  evil,  and  in  his  lips  there  is  a  burning 
fire.  Prov.  xvi.  27.  Here  is  a  never-failing  sign 
of  an  ungodly  man  or  woman  ;  profess  what  you 
may,  shout,  stamp,  stare,  cry,  sing,  yet  if  you  are 
digging  up  evil  with  the  devil's  grubbing  hoe  of 
slander,  recollecting  and  relating  crimes  which  have 
long  lain  under  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  in  thy  lips 
there  is  a  burning  fire  of  hell.  "  A  fro  ward  man 
soweth  strife,  and  a  whisperer  separateth  chief 
friends,"  verse  28.  Who  then  dare  deny  that  a 
whisperer  is  a  thief?  "  A  wicked  doer  giveth  heed 
to  false  lips,  and  a  liar  giveth  ear  to  a  naughty 


95 

tongue."  Prov.  xvii.  4.  This  text  proves  you  to 
be  a  wicked  doer,  even  for  giving  heed  to  slander, 
and  liars,  if  we  listen  to  bad,  wicked,  vile,  corrupt 
tales  of  our  neighbour ;  and  verse  9,  "  He  that 
repeateth  a  matter,  separateth  very  friends."  So 
that,  to  tell  of  drunkenness,  private  intrigue,  and 
other  evils  of  which  connections  are  guilty,  sepa- 
rates friends,  produces  quarrels,  parts  man  and 
wife,  and  consequently  often  produces  death.  A 
wicked  man  taketh  out  a  gift  out  of  the  bosom  to 
pervert  the  way  of  judgment.  Yes,  as  our  text 
reads,  "  In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed 
blood."  Wrath  is  cruel,  and  anger  is  outrageous ; 
but  who  is  able  to  stand  before  envy  ?  (or  jealousy, 
as  the  marginal  Hebrew  hath  it.)  Prov.  xxvii.  4. 
Alas  !  "  Jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave."  Song  viii. 
6.  The  grave,  the  grave*  cries  the  man  or  woman 
when  stirred  up  to  direful  vengeance  against  their 
companions,  by  those  who  "  carry  tales  to  shed 
blood  for  gifts."  Certainly,  then,  as  the  slanderer 
procures  death,  so  should  be  the  law  of  remunera- 
tion. "  As  thou  hast  done,  so  it  shall  be  done  unto 
thee;  thy  reward  shall  return  upon  thine  own  head," 
Obad.  xv. 

As  to  accessories  in  crime,  they  are  of  two  kinds, 
first,  before — second,  after  the  fact.  "  An  acces- 
sory before  the  fact  is  defined  to  be  one  who,  being 
absent  at  the  time  of  the  crime  committed,  doth 
yet  procure,  council,  or  command  another  to  com- 
mit a  crime.  An  accessory  after  the  fact,  is  when 
a  person,  knowing  a  felony  to  have  been  commit- 
ted, receives,  relieves,  and  comforts  or  assists  the 
felon.  Herein  absence  is  necessary  to  make  him 
an  accessory  ;  for  such  procurer  to  be  present,  he 
is  a  principal." — 4th  lilackstone,  p.  36. 

According  to  the  foregoing  reasoning,  it  appears 


96 

that  a  slanderer  is  at  least  a  procurer  of  murder,  by 
giving  intelligence  to  a  jealous,  envious,  vengeful 
husband  against  his  wife  of  having  been,  or  of  con- 
tinuing to  be  in  habits  of  adulterous  love  with  one 
or  more,  which,  when  told  to  such  a  jealous  hus- 
band, is  full  proof  that  the  teller  intends  that  the 
husband  should  kill  her  and  the  adulterer  or  adul- 
terers ;  or,  when  told  to  the  wife  that  the  talebear- 
ing murderer  intends  and  compasses  the  life  or  lives 
of  those  against  whom  they  inform,  and  that  when 
a  murder  is,  or  murders  are  committed,  through 
such  slanders,  and  thus  the  revengeful,  jealous 
husband  or  wife  imbrue  their  hands  in  each  other's 
blood,  as  also  in  the  blood  of  their  carnal  lovers, 
then,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  the  slanderer 
has  been  proved  to  have  "  carried  tales  to  shed 
blood,"  according  to  our  text.  But  if  he  or  she 
received  or  receives  a  reward  for  the  bloody  watch- 
ing for  evil  adulterers,  as  also  for  communicating 
the  information  thereof  to  the  blood  thirsty  husband 
or  wife,  then  the  last  part  of  our  text  is  fulfilled, 
"  In  thee  have  they  taken  gifts  to  shed  blood. " 
Alas  !  these  things  have  been  produced  millions  of 
times  by  the  blood  thirsty  slanderer,  not  only  be- 
tween man  and  wife,  but  also  between  lovers  of 
various  kinds,  by  which  whole  hosts  have  been 
slain ;  how  often  have  malicious  jealousies  been 
blown  into  a  national  flame  against  innocent  for- 
eigners, to  the  great  scandal  of  the  countries  where- 
in they  have  been  insidiously  raised  and  publish- 
ed, and  the  relentless  butchery  of  the  poor  stranger, 
foreigner,  and  slave,  of  whom  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  the  blood  of  their  ten  thousands  lay  even  at 
our  door,  by  the  raisers  and  publishers  of  tales  to 
shed  blood  for  gain,  giving  informations  of  private 
intrigues,  some  of  which  are  true,  some  doubtful, 


97 

and  more  false — and  this  too  by  poor  and  rich, 
from  motives  of  gain,  envy,  malice,' and  revenge  ! 
And  all  these  things  having  been  winked  at,  with- 
out defined,  limited  statutes  to  justly  punish  the 
slanderer,  makes  the  voice  of  our  brothers  and  sis- 
ters' blood  cry  against  the  states  from  the  ground, 
whilst  the  murmuring  zephyrs  loaded,  and  fatigued 
winds  waft  and  blow  along  the  voice  of  our  jea- 
lous, murdering  Ramah,  in  lamentation,  weeping, 
and  great  mourning,  upon  the  side  of  their  slander- 
ing oppressors,  being  bloody  slanders  ;  but  there 
is  no  sufficient  national  restraint !  Merciful  hea- 
ven !  If  policy  stimulated  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  1810,  to  pass  a  law  which  punishes  all 
aiders,  counsellors,  or  abettors  in  a  duel,  with  hang- 
ing, when  the  "  antagonist,  or  any  other  person  or 
persons"  is  killed  ;  without  all  controversy,  then, 
the  malignant  raiser  and  communicator  of  a  tale  of 
adultery,  intended  for,  and  productive  of  murder ; 
yea,  the  murder  of  a  wife  or  husband  by  the  hands 
of  their  "  one  fie sh"  as  also  that  of  thousands  of 
others,  deserves  equal  legislative  vengeance  :  more 
especially,  as  the  law  against  duelling-  only  takes 
away  cowardly  assassins,  gasgonading  adulterers, 
envious  lovers,  vain  politicians,  and  the  like ; 
whereas,  the  slanders  of  which  we  speak,  "  exer- 
cise their  fury  upon  the  good  grain,  equally  as 
upon  the  chaff,  upon  the  sacred  as  well  as  the  pro- 
fane," the  innocent  as  well  as  the  guilty  ! 

"  Curs'd  sport  that  owes  its  pleasure  to  another's 
pain, 

And  feeds  upon  the  sobs  and  groans  of  dying  na- 
ture." 

Such  was  Iago,  in  Shakspeare's  Moor  of  Venice, 


98 

who  excited  the  jealousy  of  Othello  against  Desde- 
mona  his  wife,  and  Cassio,  which  makes  him  cry 
out,  death  and  damnation  !  Get  me  some  poison, 
Iago,  this  night ; — I'll  not  expostulate  with  her. 
He  cries  to  Desdemona — get  you  to  bed  on  the 
instant,  I  will  be  returned  forthwith — dismiss  your 
attendant  there — look  it  be  done.  Desdemona 
cries,  "I  will  my  Lord."  [Desdemona  in  bed, 
asleep.'] 

Othello  enters  with  a  light,  and  talks  of  killing. 
Then  heaven  have  mercy  on  me,  cries  Desdemona, 
that  death's  unnatural  that  kills  for  loving.  Alas  I 
why  gnaw  you  so  your  nether  lip?  Some  bloody 
passion  shakes  your  very  frame — 

O  banish  me,  my  Lord,  but  kill  me  not. 

Othello  cries,  Down  strumpet ! 

Des.  Kill  me  to-morrow — let  me  live  to  night, 

Oth.  Nay,  an  you  strive — 

Des.  But  half  an  hour. 

Oth.  Being  done, 

There  is  no  pause. 

Des.  But  while  I  say  one  prayer. 

Oth.  It  is  too  late.  \JIe  smothers  her,  and  stabs 
her  with  a  dagger.] 

The  slanderer's  wife  tells  Othello,  after  he  had 
killed  his  wife,  that  her  husband  Iago  accused  Des- 
demona falsely.  Iago  hears  her,  stabs  his  wife, 
runs  out,  and  she  dies  asserting  Desdemona's  inno- 
cence. 

The  arch  slanderer  Iago  had  got  hold  of  a  hand- 
kerchief which  Othello  gave  his  dear  Desdemona 
when  they  were  married,  as  a  perpetual  love  pledge. 

jo  said  to  Othello — 

Tell  me  but  this — 

Have  you  not  sometimes  seen  a  handkerchief, 

Spotted  with  strawberries,  in  your  wife's  hand  ? 


1m 


99 

Othello  said,  I  gave  her  such  a  one  ;  'twas  my 
first  gift. 

lago.  I  know  not  that,  but  such  a  handkerchief 

(I  am  sure  it  was  your  wife's)  did  I  to  day 

See  Cassio  wipe  his  beard  with. 

Oth.  If'tbethat— 

lago.  If  it  be  that,  or  any  that  was  hers, 

It  speaks  against  her,  with  the  other  proofs. 

Oth.  O  That  the  slave  had  forty  thousand  lives  > 

One  is  too  poor,  too  weak,  for  my  revenge  ! 

Now  do  I  see  ;  'tis  time. — Look  here,  lago, 

All  my  fond  love  thus  do  I  blow  to  heaven : 

'Tis  gone — 

Arise,  black  vengeance,  from  thy  hollow  cell ! 

Yield  up,  O  love,  thy  crown  and  hearted  throne 

To  tyrannous  hate  1  Swell,  bosom,  with  thy 
fraught ; 

For  'tis  of  aspick's  tongues, 

O  blood,  lago,  blood  ! 

In  short  Othello  enters  his  wife's  chamber  with 
the  handkerchief,  which  lago  purloined  to  excite 
the  jealousy  of  the  harpie. 

He  enters  and  cries — 

That  handkerchief,  which  I  so  loved,  and  gave 
thee, 

Thou  gav'st  to  Cassio. 

And  so  smothers,  stabs,  and  kills  his  dear  Des- 
demona. 

And  shall  such  slanderers  go  unpunished  ? 

And  if  even  Desdemona  had  been  guilty,  this 
would  not  have  exculpated  lago,  as  his  intention 
was  to  shed  bloody  to  raise  an  earthquake,  an  abom- 
inable phenomenon  of  jealousy ;  jealousy  productive 
of  revenge,  as  cruel  as  the  grave — of  revenge 
against  the  dear,  the  lamb-like  Desdemona  !  Thus 
it  was  done,  in  another  instance,  against  David,  the 


100 

Lord's  anointed,  and  the  priests,  (for  none  are  too 
sacred  for  the  slanderer)  by  Doeg,  the  Edomite,  in 
revenge  for  an  old  grudge  ;  we  refer  you  to  1  Sam. 
xxii.  22,  and  to  the  tragic  poem  of  David,  con- 
demning the  spitefulness  of  "  Doeg,  the  chiefest  of 
the  herdsmen  that  belonged  unto  Saul,"  which 
Psalm  lii.  David  dedicates  "To  the  chief  musician, 
Maschil,  a  Psalm  of  David,  when  Doeg,  the  Edom- 
ite, came  and  told  Saul,  and  said  unto  him,  David 
is  come  to  the  house  of  Abimelech."  The  refer- 
ing  letter  b,  in  this  title,  points  to  the  words  of  our 
text  in  Ezek.  xxii.  9.  "  In  thee  are  men  that  carry 
tales  to  shed  blood"  David  first  asks,  "  Why 
hoastest  thyself  in  mischief,  O  mighty  man?" 
Alluding  to  slanderers  who,  when  they  are,  or  have 
been  the  destruction  of  others,  glory  in  it ;  and  im- 
mediately denounces  the  divine  vengeance  upon 
their  slandering,  murdering,  guilty  heads,  by  the 
direful  prediction  that  as  the  goodness  of  God  en- 
durethfor  ever,  il  God  shall  likewise  destroy  thee 
forever,  and  root  thee  out  of  the  land  ot  the  living  ; 
thy  tongue  cleviseth  mischiefs,  like  a  sharp  razor, 
working  deceitfully.  Thou  lovest  evil  more  than 
Kood,  and  lying  more  than  to  speak  righteousness  ; 
thou  lovest  ail  devouring  words,  O  thou  deceitful 
tongue."  This  makes  him  complain  in  Psalm 
Ivii.  when  he  dedicates  it  to  the  chief  musician  Al- 
taschith,  Michtam  of  David,  when -he  fled  from 
Saul  and  hid  in  a  cave,  in  the  wilderness  of  Pm-gedi ; 
which  Jl-taschith,  Michtam  means  destroy  not, 
being  a  golden  Psalm  of  David — He  laments,  "My 
soul  is  even  among  lions,  verse  4,  and  I  lie  even 
among  them  that  are  set  on  fire,  even  the  sons  of 
men,  whose  teeth  are  spears  and  arrows,  and  their 
tongue  a  sharp  sword."  "  The  words  of  his  mouth 
were  smoother  than  butter,  but  war  was  in  his 


101 

heart;  his  words  were  softer  than  oil,  yet  were 
they  drawn  swords.5'  Psalm  \v.  21.  Surrounded, 
yea,  besieged  upon  all  sides  from  the  secret,  sacred 
bed  chamber,  up  to  the  horns  of  the  altar,  with 
these  mighty,  insidious,  slandering  murderers,  ra- 
zor tongued  vvhisperers,  putting  on  a  fine  edge,  to 
cut  throats  and  marriages  ;  lion  like  slanderers, 
who  roar  out,  and  tear  in  pieces ;  deceitful,  private 
slanderers,  who  work  under  our  garrisons,  and 
blow  them  up  ;  lying  slanderers,  who  love  all  de- 
vouring words  ;  sword  slanderers,  who  slice,  cut, 
and  pierce  us  through  ;  smooth  butter  slanderers* 
who  pump  us,  watch  us,  smile  upon  us,  and  stab 
us  ;  soft,  oily  slanderers,  who  turn  up  their  eyes 
to  the  ceiling  in  half  milk  and  rose  winks,  smile 
upon  us  with  dove's  eyes,  cooing  turtle's  voice, 
hair  of  St.  John,  dimples  of  gold  in  silver  cheeks, 
teeth  of  sanctified  ivory,  lips  of  innocent  coral, 
tongue  of  holy  sympathy,  eyebrows  and  lids  as  the 
light  of  the  morning  spread  upon  the  mountains, 
a  tongue  of  oil  immersed  in  love,  fluttering  and 
faultering  in  pity,  the  body  rocking  in  pensive  de- 
ception, while  a  prayer,  tear,  or  a  groan,  the  whole 
length  of  the  slow  jawed  slanderer's  murdering 
nature,  seals  the  present  and  Future  damnation  of 
their  helpless  and  undone  victims  of  irretrievable 
sorrow,  of  eternal  ruin  !  Encircled,  we  lament, 
with  these  hydras,  why  hesitate  to  attack  slander 
by  statute,  as  it  is  the  most  universal  thief,  magni- 
fied robber,  and  eternally  insatiate,  double  refined 
liar,  hypocrite  and  murderer  ? 

Deliver  me  not  over  unto  the  will  of  mine  ene- 
mies ;  (ought  to  be  our  prayer)  for  false  witnesses 
are  risen  up  against  me,  and  such  as  breathe  out  cru- 
elty. Psalm  xxvii.  12.  A  false  witness  is  guilty 
of  murder  in  the  sight  of  God,  at  the  bar  of  con- 


102 

science,  and  ought  also  to  be  at  the  tribunal  of  man, 
when  he  swears  away  the  life  of  an  innocent  per- 
son.    It  is  the  opinion  of  Blackstone,  that  he  is  a 
murderer  injbro  consciencia.     At  all  hazards,  we 
may  safely  say,  that  such  are  as  worthy  of  death  as 
those  who  carry  a  challenge  to  fight  a  duel ;  and 
such  are  accounted  capital  offenders  in  Virginia,  if 
one  of  the  "  antagonists"  be  killed,  "  or  any  other 
person."     "  Draw  me  not  away  with  the  wicked, 
and  with  the  workers  of  iniquity,   which  speak 
peace  to  their  neighbors,  but  mischief  is  in  their 
hearts."  Psalm  xxviii.  3.     Would  to  God  that 
none  but  the  professedly  wicked  would  act  thus  ; 
but  alas  !  alas !  brethren  in  the  Lord,  yea,  in  the 
sanctuary  of  the  altar,  supplant,  and  that  too  in 
their  own  community — yes,    they  often  distress, 
distract,  and  shipwreck  even  the  poor  stranger  by 
peace,  peace,  to  the  face,  while  mischief  is  in  their 
hearts,  and  sudden  destruction  from  their  slander- 
ing tongues.     "  I  heard  the  defaming  of  many, 
fear  on  every  side.     Report,  say  they,  and  we  will 
report  it.     All  my  familiars  watched  for  my  halt- 
ing, saying,  peradventure  he  will  be  enticed,  and 
we  shall  prevail  against  him,  and  we  shall  take  our 
revenge  on  him."  Jer.  xx.  10.    As  this  is  the  cur- 
rent  coin  of  every  slanderer,  whenever,  therefore, 
by  such  defaming,  reporting,  enticing,  prevailing, 
and  revenging,  death   is  maliciously  and  wilfully 
produced,  at  the  bar  of  the  conscience  of  every 
state,  a  statute  law  ought  to  exist  to  punish  them 
capitally  ;  otherwise  the  blood  of  the  slain  will  lay 
at  our  national  doors  for  neglecting  distributive 
justice,  and  be  required  at  our  hands,  according  to 
those  well  known  words — "  At  the  hand  of  man, 
at  the  hand  of  every  man's  brother,  xvill  I  require 
the  life  of  man,     Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by 


103 

man  shall  his  blood  be' k  shed :  for  in  the  image  of 
God  made  he  man  ;"  and,  therefore,  murder  is  trea- 
son against  God  ;  and  therefore  also,  man  is  his 
lawgiver,  representative,  and  avenger.  "  For  all 
they  that  take  the  sword  (unlawfully  to  kill  either 
by  slander  or  otherwise)  shaUfit  is  my  mandate) 
perish  with  the  ( legal  f  sword."  Matt.  xxvi.  52. 
%%  If  any  man  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear;  he  that 
killeth,  must  be  killed."  Rev.  xiii.  9,  10.  In  a 
word,  if  the  policy  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  of 
1810,  (who  set  themselves  so  much  against  di- 
vorces, like  Christians,)  was  levelled  against  duels, 
fought  mostly  by  the  means  of  slanderers,  so  as  to 
work  that  august  body  up  to  hang  some  men  who 
are  thought,  by  some,  skilled  in  the  law,  not  to 
kill,  nor  intend  to  kill  of  malice  aforethought.  If, 
we  repeat,  the  "adversary,  or  any  other  person ," 
being  killed  in  a  duel,  brought  down  the  vengeance 
of  the  statute  of  January  26th,  1810,  upon  the 
heads  of  principals,  aiders,  abettors,  and  counsel- 
lors, even  to  hanging  by  the  neck  until  dead  ;  or, 
if  not  killed,  that  all  principals,  aiders,  abettors, 
and  counsellors  are  disfranchised  :  Surely,  then, 
we  see  no  reason  to  withhold  our  assent  to  a  law  of 
equal  penalty  against  malicious,  slandering  mur- 
derers, when  they  intend,  and  it  may  have  been 
proved  that  he  did  kill  by  the  effects  of  that  crime 
of  crimes,  called  by  James,  "  a  world of  'iniquity  /" 
As  also,  that  when  the  slanderer  failed  of  his  or  her 
end,  he  or  she  should  be  either,  also,  like  the  du- 
eller, disfranchised,  or  confined  to  hard  labor  in  the 
penitentiary.  No  doubt  population  would  proceed 
as  much  faster  then  than  it  now  does,  as  a  swift, 
thundering  steed  does  an  old  spavin,  galded,  wind- 
broken  mule  ;  inasmuch  as  though  it  is  now  imped- 
ed, by  slander  preventing  marriages  under  whv: 


104 

ing,  lying,  and  interested /^retentions ;  then  we 
should  have  the  studden  sails  set,  "  and  the  wind 
right  aft." 

In  the  second  section/ of  the  act  of  March  16th, 
1809.  page  340,  underAhe  title  Libel,  abridgment 
of  the  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  by  John  Purdon, 
jun.  we  read,  that  "^n  all  actions  or  criminal  pros- 
ecutions for  a  libel,  the  defendant  may  plead  the 
truth  thereof  in  justification,  or  give  the  same  in 
evidence. " 

Yet,  in  page  109,  of  the  act  of  the  31st  March, 
1806,  we  read,  sect.  5.  "If any  person. or  per- 
sons shall  presume  to  publish  in  any  newspaper, 
or  post  handbills  written  or  printed,  or  otherwise, 
any  other  person  or  persons  as  a  coward  or  cow- 
ards, rascal  or  rascals,  liar  or  liars,  or  use  any  other 
irritating  or  abusive  language,  for  not  accepting  a 
challenge  or  fighting  a  duel,  such  person  or  persons 
shall,  for  such  offence,  being  thereof  convicted,  be 
subject  to  the  same  punishment  as  though  he  or 
they  had  fought  a  duel,  as  provided  by  the  first 
section  of  this  act." — Which  act,  in  its  first  and 
second  sections,  reads  as  follows  : 

Sect.  1  "  If  any  person,  within  this  common- 
wealth, shall  challenge,  by  word  or  writing,  the 
person  of  another,  to  fight  at  sword,  rapier,  pistol, 
or  other  deadly  weapon,  or  if  any  person  so  chal- 
lenged, shall  accept  the  said  challenge,  in  either 
case,  such  person  so  giving,  or  sending,  or  receiv- 
ing any  such  challenge,  shall,  for  Such  offence,  be- 
ing thereof  lawfully  convicted  in  any  court  of  re- 
cord within  this  commonwealth,  by  the  testimony 
of  one  or  more  witnesses,  or  by  confession,  forfeit, 
and  pay  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  and  shall 
suffer  one  year's  imprisonment  at  hard  labor,  in  the 
same  manner  as  convicted  felons  are  now  punish- 


105 

cd  ;  and  moreover,  shall  forfeit,  and  be  deprived  of 
all  rights  of  citizenship,  within  this  commonwealth, 
for  the  term  of  seven  years." 

Thanks  to  heaven,  and  to  the  immortalized  le- 
gislature of  March,  1806,  here  is  an  overwhelming 
exception  to  the  justification  of  an  infamous  libel, 
though  true ;  and  herein  we  rejoice  that  they  en- 
force that  part  of  our  Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount, 
"  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  brother  ttaca,  (that 
is,  from  the  Hebrew  word  rack,  saitjr A.  Clarke  ; 
it  signifies  a  vain,  empty,  worthless  fellow,  shallow 
trains,  a  term  of  great  contempt,)  shall  be  in  dan- 
ger of  the  council." 

And,  Sect.  2.  "If  any  person  shall  willingly 
ami  knowingly  carry  and  deliver  any  message, 
purporting  to  be  a  challenge,  he  shall  pay  five  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  suffer  one  year's  imprisonment  at 
hard  labor,  and  forever  hereafter  be  incapable  of 
holding  any  office,  &c.  within  this  commonwealth." 
"  In  the  same  manner  as  convicted  felons,"  saith 
the  act. 

If,  then,  to  save  the  state  from  confusion,  and 
preserve  such  refractory  gasgonaders  as  duel  gladi- 
ators from  death,  stimulated  the  enlightened  legis- 
lature of  1806,  to  make  slanderous  words,  written 
and  circulated,  amount  to  felonious  acts,  and  pun- 
ished them  accordingly, by  such  an  inimitable  sta- 
tute, (except  that  of  V^inia,  January  26th,  1810) 
would  it  not  be  equally  wise,  politic,  and  just,  to 
make  slanderous  words  spoken,  written,  and  other- 
wise uttered,  to  be  also  felony,  when  they  shall 
be  proved  to  have  been  so  spoken,  written,  or 
otherwise  uttered,  of  malice  aforethought,  to  pro- 
duce killing,  and  other  losses  to  appetite,  memory, 
peace,  health,  property,  life,  conjugal  harmony,  ci- 
vil  losses,   punishments,   vexations,    and   deadly 


106 

prosecutions,  to  which  direful  results  we  may  add 
the  loss  of  heaven,  and  the  damnation  of  hell  ? 
More  especially,  when  we  have  discovered  that 
slander  is  the  devil's  compound  mechanics,  pro- 
ducing perpetual  motion  in  tongues,  pens,  fists, 
cowskins,  sticks,  steel  and  lead,  ropes,  poisons, 
cups,  glasses,  nods,  winks,  mysterious  whispers, 
ludicrous  grimmaces,  distrustful  glances,  earth- 
quaking shrugs,  and  hydra  headed  signs,  from  the 
stamping  foot  up  to  the  stiff,  surly,  sly,  palechin, 
grinning  jaw,  serpentine  upper  lip,  tossing  nose, 
winking,  screwed  up,  and  fiery  opened  lightning 
eye,  Vesuvius  eyebrow,  and  harpie  dishevelled 
hair,  propelled  by  the  large  boiler  of  Satan's  steam 
engine  in  hell,  smoking,  heating,  tarnishing,  and 
bursting  from  a  windy  kitchen  up  to  the  horns  of 
the  altar,  flowing  down  upon  society  like  vials  of 
the  lowering  heavens,  inundating  us  as  the  sea 
which  shipwrecks  from  a  canoe,  up  to  a  first  rate 
ship  of  the  line  ;  in  a  word,  slander  being  the  over- 
flowings of  the  highest  rectified  implacability  of 
hell,  is  the  cholera  morbus  of  that  bottomless  pit, 
is  its  fiery  bile  raised  to  the  greatest  acme  of  irrup- 
tive  irritation,  and  disgorged  over  this  (thereby) 
shaking,  tottering,  putrescent  fire  and  brimstone, 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah — and  should  be  punished 
by  statute  law,  referred  to  the  jury. 

"  The  sense  in  which  words  are  received  by  the 
world,  is  the  sense  which  courts  of  'justice  ought  to 
ascribe  to  them  in  actions  for  slander.  Slander 
imports  an  injury,  and  the  injury  must  arise  from 
the  manner  in  which  the  slanderous  language  is 
understood"  2  Dallas,  p.  59.     1  Dallas,  p.  114. 

The  Rev.  William  M'Kendree,  senior  bishop  of 
the  Methsdist  Episcopal  Church,  was  told  a  vil- 
lainous tale,  slyly  and  slanderously,  against  one  of 


107 

the  brethren";  and  the  good  father  of  our  itinerant 
society,  our  Elisha,  who  walked  with  Elijah  As- 
bury  until  he  received  his  senior  itinerant  mantle, 
sent  him  oft' with  a  reproof  worthy  of  St.  James,  for 
he  asked  him,  "  brother y  did  you  tell  him  of  it  ?" 
Thus  did  our  Joshua  fulfil  the  Scripture,  which  ob- 
serves, that  "  the  north  wind  driveth  away  rain  : 
so  doth  an  angry  countenance  a  backbiting  tongue." 
Prov.  xxv.  23  ;  and  we  hope  that  the  whole  tri- 
umvirate are  of  his  mind.  We  wish  to  God  that 
all  our  preachers  may  follow  herein  his  example. 

Hear  also  the  Washington  of  Methodism,  we 
mean  John  Wesley.  "  Hear  evil  of  no  man  :  if 
there  were  no  hearers,  there  would  be  no  speakers 
of  evil.  And  is  not  the  receiver  as  bad  as  the 
thief?  If,  then,  any  begin  to  speak  evil  in  thy 
hearing,  check  him  immediately  ;  refuse  to  hear 
the  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm  he  ever  so  sweet- 
ly :  let  him  use  ever  so  soft  a  manner,  so  mild  an 
accent,  ever  so  many  professions  of  good  will  for 
him  whom  he  is  stabbing  in  the  dark,  whom  he 
smiteth  under  the  fifth  rib ;  resolutely  refuse  to 
hear,  though  the  whisperer  complain  of  being  bur- 
dened till  he  speak.  Burdened  !  thou  fool,  dost 
thou  'travail  with  thy  cursed  secret  as  a  woman 
travaileth  with  child  V  Go,  then,  and  be  deliver- 
ed of  thy  burden,  in  the  way  the  Lord  hath  ordain- 
ed. Matt,  xviii.  Put  ye  away  evil  speaking,  tale- 
bearing, whispering  ;  let  none  of  them  proceed  out 
of  your  mouth.  See  that  you  '  speak  evil  of  no 
man  ;'  ot  the  absent,  nothing  but  good.  Let  this 
be  the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  Methodist.  He 
censures  no  man  behind  his  back  :  by  this  fruit  ye 
may  know  him.  Suppose  having  seen  a  man 
drunk,  or  heard  him  curse  or  swear,  I  tell  this 
when  he  is  absent,  it  is  evil  speaking. "    So  much 


108 

for  John  Wesley.     See  how  we,  who  are  called 
Methodists,  imitate  him ! 

"  Not  to  mention  the  faults  of  any  behind  his 
back,  and  to  stop  those  short  that  do ;  reprove  in 
love  and  meekness  of  wisdom." — Directions  to  the 
band  societies,  Dec.  25th,  1744,  and  again  in  1812. 

Our  experience  is  a  lie,  if  we  are  slanderers  ;  for 
he  that  saith  1  know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  com- 
mandments is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him. 
1  John  ii.  4. 

What  are  the  negative  commands  on  this  point  ? 

Answ.  Thou  shait  not  go  up  and  down  as  a  tale- 
bearer among  thy  people.  Lev.  xix.  16. 

What  is  a  talebearer  ? 

Answ.  A  pedler,  a  trader,  saith  the  Hebrew. 

A  talebearer,  then,  according  to  this  text,  so  far 
from  being  a  Christian,  is  the  devil's  pedler,  or  tra- 
der ;  and  by  not  attending  to  the  prohibitory  com- 
mand, Thou  shalt  not  be  a  taiebearer,  he,  as  our 
text  hath  it,  is  a  liar,  he  lies  against  God. 

What !  if  he  or  she  got  drunk,  and  I  told  a 
preacher  or  leader,  and  I  knew  it  to  be  a  fact  ? 

Answ.  Yes :  The  telling  of  the  fact  in  a  tale- 
bearing, unscriptural  way,  is  the  lie  against  God's 
truth. 

Whew  !  Then  the  truth  is  a  lie,  you  say  ? 

Answ.  Undoubtedly  it  is  a  lie  against  God's 
truth  ;  that  is  the  Scriptures  of  truth. 

What  dost  thou  mean  by  God's  truth? 

Answ.  I  have  produced  it  in  that  emphatic  ne- 
gative) Thou  shait  not  go  up  and  down  as  a  tale- 
bearer :  he  then  is  a  liar  who  does  go  up  and  down 
as  a  talebearer,  for  he  sins  against  the  words  of 
truth,  prompted  by  the  father  of  lies. 

But  suppose  a  preacher  or  leader  ask  me — must 
I  not  tell  him  of  their  crimes  to  keep  up  disci- 
pline f 


109 

Answ.  When  preachers  ask  such  questions  un- 
scripturally  and  slyly,  they  arc  suspicious  turnkeys 
for  Lucifer,  working  his  chain  pump,  to  produce 
by  the  sucker  of  the  tongue,  the  putrescent  bilge 
water  of  hell,  which  they  squirt  through  the  syringe 
of  slanderous  whispering,  and  contaminating  des- 
tructive oppression,  by  which  hydraulic  machine 
the  tree  of  defamation  is  watered  and  nourished, 
Until  by  spreading  its  roots  and  boughs  throughout 
all  the  circles  of  society,  the  surrounding  atmos- 
phere is  thereby  rendered  contagious,  the  respira- 
tion of  the  churches  poisoned,  and  the  tongues  of 
all  the  brethren  and  sisters  turned  into  infectious, 
burning,  hot,  inquisitive,  impertinent  madness,  re- 
sulting in  the  direful  hydrophobia  of  "  a  -world  of 
iniquity  /" 

When  impertinent  curiosity,  that  crosses  the 
lines  in  which  other  persons  move,  prompted  Peter 
to  ask,  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  The 
truth  replied  with  sharpness,  What  is  that  to  thee  ? 
follow  thou  me  ;  that  is,  mind  thine  own  duty,  Mr. 
Slanderer. 

Moreover,  charity  thinketh  no  evil,  and,  there- 
fore is  not  a  suspicious,  busy  meddler.  1  Cor.  xiii.  5. 

But  suppose  I  have  lost  ail  faith  in  a  brother, 
what  then  can  I  do  but  blab  it  out? 

Ansxv.  Then  charity  comes  in  with  its  hope  ; 
for  it  hopeth  ail  things  of  the  reformation  of  a  bro- 
ther, when  faith  in  him  fails,  yea,  and  suffereth 
1-o-n-g  in  this  hope  with  its  fallen  sister ;  it  is  not 
vaunting,  or  rash,  as  the  margin  hath  it,  witlva  bro- 
ther or  enemy.  1  Cor.  xiii.  7.  Charity  rejoiceth 
in,  or,' as  the  margin  has  it,  with  the  truth;  for 
charity  is  emphatically  the  truth  in  the  concrete. 

But  if  he  curses,  or  she  brawls,  he  fights,  and  she 
K 


110 

is  a  mischief  maker,  must  I  not  go  and  tell  the 
preacher,  or  some  ruler  of  the  church  ? 

The  truth  does  not  authorise  you,  for  it  reads 
thus :  Put  them  in  mind  to  speak  evil  of  no  man* 
Titus  iii.  1,  2.  Here  is  no  exception,  but  a  posi- 
tive negative  in  the  indefinite,  no  man.  This  is  the 
truth — this  is  the  apostolic  precept ;  when  then  you 
speak  evil  of  any  man,  you  are  a  liar,  though  what 
you  say  of  a  person  is  a  certain  fact,  it  being  scrip- 
turally  true  that  he  that  keeping  not  the  command- 
ments is  a  liar,  as  saith  our  text,  and  the  truth  of 
GocVs  word  is  not  in  him. 

But  I  will  tell  upon  such  wicked,  sinful  hypo- 
crites; you  encourage  theft,  adultery,  drunken- 
ness, fornication,  uncleanness,  lies,  fighting,  and 
quarrelling,  and  all  villainy,  by  such  silence;  speak- 
ing of  them  is  a  virtue. 

Answ.  Set  your  foot  there,  and  we  shall  prove 
that  all  you  have  charged  us  with  is  openly  levelled 
at  the  lawgiver  and  the  law.  "  Speak  not  evil  one 
of  another,  brethren  ;  he  that  speaketh  evil  of  his 
brother,  and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaketh  evil  of 
the  law,  and  judgeth  the  law  :  thou  art  not  a  doer 
of  the  law,  but  a  judge."  James  iv.  11.  So  that 
you,  by  telling  the  faults  of  your  brother,  so  far 
from  being  in  the  truth  or  your  duty,  are  speaking 
evil  also  of  the  law,  and  judging  the  law,  not  being 
a  doer  of  the  law,  which  commands  silence,  for- 
bearance, and  lovingly  to  reclaim  and  forgive  a 
friend  or  foe,  but  a  judge  ;  a  judge  of  the  law,  and 
a  judge  upon  the  law.  You  say,  then,  that  the  law 
tolerates  sin  of  every  kind  by  your  evil  speakings ; 
you  blame  also  the  lawgiver,  you  judge  the  Al- 
mighty God  himself,  and  thus  slander  Jah  Jehovah 
for  commanding  you  to  be  silent !  No  wonder, 
then,  that  when  you  call  the  master  of  the  house  a 


Ill 

favorer  of  sin,  you  would  also  apply  the  same  slan- 
der to  those  of  his  household.  But  thrice  happy 
for  our  subject,  such  are  proved  and  found  to  be 
liars,  and  not  Jews  in  heart ;  for  he  that  saith  I 
know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  commandments  of 
silence,  forgiveness,  and  covering  a  multitude  of 
sins,  is  a  liar  according  to  God's  truth,  though  he 
or  she  tell  ten  thousand  of  the  devil's  tattling  truths. 

"  Truth  is  the  proper  foundation  for  all  credi- 
bility ;  and  God's  truth  the  only  foundation  of 
Christian  credibility,  or  faith.  There  can  be  no 
foundation  without  truth ;  and,  consequently,  no 
faith  without  this  foundation. 

"  But  the  foundation  must  be  laid  :  that  is,  the 
truth  must  be  published,  or  faith  cannot  rest  upon 
it.  God,  therefore,  hath  revealed  and  published 
his  truth,  which,  before  his  revelation  of  it,  must 
have  been  hid  in  himself  as  its  proper  essence. 

"  As  all  truth  proceeds  from  God,  he  is,  and  he 
calls  himself  the  truth  emphatically  :  he  is  the 
source  of  all  reality.  What,  therefore,  proceeds 
from  him  must  be  true ;  and  thus  the  matters 
which  he  hath  declared  or  done,  are  manifestations 
or  revelations  of  his  truth  ad  extra,  or  to  his  peo- 
ple, and  as  such  are  to  be  received  by  them. 

"  These  manifestations  or  revelations  in  the  word 
are  real  and  immovable  truths,  necessary  and  cre- 
dibley^rus,  with  us,  and  in  us. 

"  They  proceed  from  Him  as  their  cause ;  are 
effected  by  Him  as  their  agent ;  and  tend  to  Him 
as  their  end.  They  descend  for  us  as  grounds  of  our 
faith  i  are  with  us  for  strengthening  our  hope ; 
and  remain  experimentally  in  us  as  the  means,  or 
earnest,  used  for  our  salvation. 

"  When  we  say  us,  we  mean  that  the  house  of 
God  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  which  some 


112 

translate,  pillar  and  ground,  others  better,  the  sta- 
tion and  seat  of  the  truth.  1  Tim.  iii.  15.  God  is 
the  truth;  and  so,  subordinate \y,  are  the  revela- 
tions from  him  ;  the  church  is  the  column  raised 
upon  this  truth,  as  upon  its  proper  foundation,  and 
is  also  the  scat  or  place  where  all  these  revelations 
concentrate,  and  where  only,  as  to  the  application, 
they  will  ever  be  found. 

"  Christ  hath  taken  the  name  of  truth.  Rev.  iii. 
14,  and  is  become  the  basis  or  foundation  of  his 
people.  Isaiah  xxviii.  16. 

"  The  Gospel,  which  treats  of  both  truth  in  es- 
sence, and  truth  communicated,  is  the  truth  of  God, 
because  it  both  proceeded  from  him  as  its  cause, 
and  returns  to  him  and  to  his  glory  as  its  end. 

"  Reason  seems  to  show  with  what  strict  propri- 
ety God  hath  assumed  this  name  of  truth.  But  it 
was  only  the  revelation  of  God  himself  which  could 
convince,  how  suitably  and  justly  this  bright  attri- 
bute operates  for  the  eternal  welfare  and  salvation 
of  sinners. 

"  In  Deuteronomy,  xxxii.  near  the  beginning, 
Moses  publishes  the  name  of  Jehovah — and  among 
other  titles,  ascribes  to  him  the  remarkable  one, 
AL  the  TRUTH,  which  is  rendered  in  our  trans- 
lation, God  of  Truth,  but  more  justly  by  Monta- 
nus,  Deus  Veritas, 4  God  the  truth.'  But  the  apos- 
tle John  says,  1  John  v.  6.  It  is  the  spirit  that  bear- 
eth  witness,  because  the  spirit  is  the  Truth.  The 
Spirit,  therefore,  is  Jehovah,  Alehim  and  AL, 
which  are  among  the  titles  given  to  the  Truth  in 
Deuteronomy,  above  mentioned. 

"  In  Psalm  xxxi.  God  is  styled  Jehovah  AL, 
the  TRUTH,  or  of  truth,  according  to  our  trans- 
lation ;  but  the  Holv  Ghost  is  named  the  Truth, 
and  Spirit  of  TRUTH." 


113 

You  ask,  if  a  man  hath  cheated  another  out  of  a 
dollar,  don't  you  think  I  ought  to  tell  upon  such  a 
person  to  a  preacher  or  magistrate  ? 

Ansxv.  "Thou  shalt  not  steal."  Exod.  xx.  15. 
This  don't  mean  not  steal  by  the  hands  only,  but 
also  by  any  means ;  for  instance,  a  man  robs  you 
of  a  trifle,  and  you,  by  giving  publicity  thereunto, 
may,  in  the  devil's  court,  rob  him  of  five  thousand 
dollars  :  that  is,  you  prosecute  him  in  Satan's  court 
of  a  world  of  iniquity,  by  the  compound  interest  of 
sleepless  slander,  to  his  or  her  entire  undoing;  and 
even  allowing  that  you  could  legally  bring  all  such 
culprits  to  justice,  yet  justice  itself  is  a  crime, 
when  opposed  to  the  law  of  love,  which  we  prove 
by  the  following  passage  of  Scripture.  u  The  same 
servant  found  one  of  his  fellow  servants  who  owed 
him,  and  he  took  him  by  the  throat  and  said,  pay 
me  that  thou  owest,  and  cast  him  into  the  prison 
till  he  should  pay  the  debt ;  so  when  his  fellow 
servants  (whose  mercy  had  overcome  their  justice) 
saw  what  was  done  they  were  sorry  ;  then  his  Lord 
said  unto  him,  O  thou  wicked  servant,  I  forgave 
thee  all  the  debt,  shouldst  not  thou  also  have  had 
compassion  upon  thy  fellow  servant,  even  as  I  had 
pity  on  thee  ?  And  his  Lord  was  wroth,  and  de- 
livered him  to  the  tormentors  (for  doing  justice) 
till  he  should  pay  all  that  was  due  unto  him.  So 
likewise  shall  my  heavenly  Father  do  also  unto 
you,  if  ye,  from  your  hearts,  forgive  not  every  one 
his  brother  their  trespasses."  Matt.  ix.  24  to  35. 

Se  was,  therefore,  condemned  for  doing  justice, 
r  not  imitating  his  Lord  in  compassion,  and  for 
nothing  else  ;  so  also  shall  Goddamn  us  if  we  use 
justice  in  opposition  to  mercy.  For  if  ye  forgive 
men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father  will 
also  iorgive  you  ;  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their 

k2 


114 

trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your 
trespasses"  Matt.  vi.  14,  15.  If  we  forgive  not, 
we  shall  be  damned,  is  the  truth  of  God,  in  oppo- 
sition to  which  let  every  thing,  system,  and  man  be 
a  liar :  otherwise,  "Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we 
forgive  our  debtors"  would  have  no  meaning ;  for- 
giveness of  debts  then,  is  the  truth  of  God.  Every 
thing  opposite  to  mercy  is  the  malicious,  unmer- 
ciful truth  of  the  devil — and  that  even  although  it 
be  supported  by  legislators,  judiciaries,  and  execu- 
tives ;  yea,  though  bulwarked  by  severe  sanctuary 
caucuses,  and  delivering  up  to  Satan  unmercifully. 
For  he  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy,  that 
hath  shewed  no  mercy ;  and  mercy  rejoiceth  (or 
glorieth,  margin}  against  (or  over)  judgment. 
James  ii.  13.  Justice  rejoiceth  in  a  church,  or 
court  judgment,  which  is  a  lie,  when  coming  in 
competition  with  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  for giv* 
ing  the  debt,  and  having  compassion  on  our  fellow 
servants,  by  forgiving,  from  our  hearts,  every  one 
his  brother  their  trespasses. 

You  ask,  What !  not  tell  upon  a  lying  thief,  and 
a  hypocrite  ? 

Answ.  Thou  hypocrite  !  first  cast  out  the  beam 
of  lying  against  the  truth,  <  by  slander)  out  of  thine 
own  eye,  the  hell  spot,  stealing  good,  bad,  and  in- 
different reputations,  and  then  shalt  thou  see  thy 
dut) ,  clearly  how  to  act  in  mercy  with  a  stealer  of 
a  purse,  who  is  only  a  trash  thief  (as  saith  Shakes- 
peare) when  compared  with  thee. 

But  I  am  so  tormented  with  wicked,  lazy,  dirty, 
roguish  servants  and  bad  neighbours,  that  I  can't 
help  talking  loud,  severe,  and  evil  of  them ;  how 
can  I  do  ? 

Answ.  As  John  Wesley  said,  (when  sailors  rob- 
bed  him  privately  of  his  money  on  board  the  ship, 


115 

after  some  search)  "  If  1  have  lost  my  money,  let 
me  not  lose  my  senses"  Don't  go  to  the  devil  to 
have  work  done.  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  bro- 
ther Baca,  (that  is,  empty,  vain,  worthless  fellow, 
from  the  Hebrew. word  Rack,  saith  A.  Clarke) 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council.  Matt.  v.  22  ;  and 
if  you  doubt  whether  a  slave  is  your  brother  or  not, 
we  refer  you  to  Jer.  xxxiv.  17.  where  you  may 
see  something  else  that  may  open  your  brawling 
eyes  a  little  wider  than  they  are.  "  Put  them  hi 
mind  to  be  no  brawlers"  Titus  iii.  1,  2,  is  the  truth, 
according  to  loving,  gentle  goodness,  in  oppo- 
sition to  railing,  brawling  devilishness,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any  grudge  against  the 
children  of  thy  people,  but  thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself."  Lev.  xix.  18.  Here  is  a 
double  divine  truth — Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  with  self- love.  This  ad- 
mits of  neither  slavery,  slander,  nor  shaving,  nor  the 
severities  of  justice  :  this  is  the  truth,  the  opposite 
is  error,  falsehood,  and  lies,  though  it  have  the 
semblance  of  policy,  justice,  church  discipline, 
and  sacerdotal  holiness  for  its  basis  ;  we  mean  lies 
against  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  "  Yea,  (says 
Paul)  let  God  be  true,  but  every  man  a  liar."  Rom. 
iii.  4.  As  it  is  written  that  thou  mightest  be  jus- 
tified in  thy  sayings,  and  clear  when  thou  judgest, 
or  art  judged.  Psalm  li.  4.  As  the  result  of  Da- 
vid's inspection  hath  it,  I  said  all  men  are  liars, 
Psalm  cxvi.  11,  whenever,  then,  we  seek  our  own 
against  the  spirit  of  charity,  we  are  liars  against 
Christian  charity  ;  which,  as  St.  Paul  affirms,  seek- 
eth  not  her  own.  1  Cor.  xiii.  5.  Why  is  it  that 
charity,  or  love,  seeketh  not  her  own  sect,  own 
money,  own  country,  own  rights,  privileges,  ho- 
nor, ease,  pleasure,  or  profit  ?  Why  because  it  loves 


116 

its  neighbor  as  itself.  And  from  the  same  motive, 
and  for  the  same  reason,  St.  Paul  saith,  u  If  any 
man  have  a  quarrel  (or,  as  the  margin  Hebrew  hath 
it,  a  complaint)  against  any,  even  as  Christ  forgave 
you,  so  also  do  ye."  Ye,  therefore,  who  wish  to 
know  how  to  dispose  of  a  quarrel,  or  a  complaint 
against  a  brother  or  sister,  this  is  the  more  excel- 
lent way,  forgive  it ;  this  is  GocVs  truth,  and  the 
contrary  is  no,  I'll  tell  a  preacher,  member,  or  lea- 
der, is  a  lie  against  God,  is  the  devil's  malicious, 
altarscraping,  unforgiving,  talebearing,  truth  ;  not 
God's  loving,  forbearing  truth,  of  which,  as  Solo- 
mon saith,  that  love  covereth  all  sins.  Prov.  x.  12. 
Our  point  is  proved — he  that  keepeth  not  his  com- 
mandments is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  ?iot  in  him. 
Every  practice  or  opinion  opposite  to  the  word  of 
God,  is  an  error,  an  untruth,  a  falsehood,  a  lie ;  in 
proof  whereof,  read  the  following  Scriptures  :  Let 
God  be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar.  Rom.  in.  4. 
O  Lord  (saith  Daviaj  thy  words  be  true.  2  Sam. 
vii.  28;  right  judgments  and  true  laws,  good  sta- 
tutes and  commandments.  A  eh.  ix.  13.  All  other 
sentences  or  judgments,  whether  from  or  by  poli- 
ticians or  judges,  either  in  the  state  or  the  church, 
contrary  to  God's  right  judgments,  are  wrong,  op- 
posite to  his  true  laws,  are  false,  clashing  with  his 
good  statutes  and  commandments,  are  bad  ;  yea, 
every,  and  all  confessions  of  faith,  articles  of  reli- 
gion, codes  of  law ,  and  forms  of  church  govern- 
ment or  discipline,  should  be  held  in  doubt  and  sus- 
picion, and  never  be  quoted  nor  practised  but  in  a 
secondary  manner,  to  be  an  handmaid  to  truth. 
The  church  of  Rome  saith,  so  says  one,  the  creed 
and  articles,  say  others,  our  catechism,  a  third,  and 
the  discipline,  a  fourth,  and  so  th-  point  improved. 
The  evil  is  we  all  build  a  wall  of  injustice,  doubt, 


117 

errors,  falsehood,  and  lies,  in  human  heterodoxy, 
which  will  be  burned  up  in  the  miilenium  of  truth. 
The  judgments  of  the  Lord  (not  of  Luther,  Cal- 
vin, JVesley,  or  Whitefield,  nor  Leo  the  \Oth)  are 
true  (or  truth,  margin)  and  righteous  altogether" 
Psalm  xix.  9.  Many  malicious  hearsays,  produc- 
tive of  false  and  lying  judgments,  supported  by  un- 
righteousness altogether,  have  been  partially  passed 
in  the  purest  societies,  by  being  led  by  obscure,  ill 
drawn  charts,  and  carried  into  effect  by  hearsay 
bribery  and  sacerdotal  intolerance.  Thy  word  is 
true  from  the  begi?ini?rg.  Psalm  cxix.  160.  And 
we  may  safely  say,  that  all  other  systems  are  lies 
from  their  beginning,  with  all  their  aiders,  abet- 
tors, and  counsellors,  if  they  in  one  jot  or  tittle 
fritter  away  mercy  from  truth,  gentleness,  long  suf- 
fering, and  hoping  the  best.  Master,  thou  art 
true,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God  in  truth.  Matt. 
xxii,  16.  Whenever,  then,  any  man  tells  a  truth 
upon  a  brother,  receives  a  backbiting  truth  as  a 
leader  in  a  church,  or  acts  upon  it  unmercifully 
and  unscripturally,  every  one  who  has,  or  has  had 
a  hand  in  it,  is  a  liar  against  our  master's  truth, 
and  that  even  though  the  person  expelled  be  guilty, 
and  what  was  said  of  him  true  ;  it  being  manifest 
that  all  and  every  concurrence  in  an  unscriptural 
act,  is  a  lie  against  the  Word  himself,  and  the  word 
of  truth  itself.  What  a  lamentable  state  is  that 
church  in,  which  is  led  by  a  system  of  rules  not 
fully  founded  in  Gospel  order  and  discipline,  and 
administered  by  inexperienced,  unduly,  influenced 
youth,  supported  by  prepossessed,  revengeful  old 
age,  who,  turning  away  their  ears  from  him  who  is, 
and  it  which  is  the  whole  truth,  mercy  and  truth 
met  together,  are  turned  to  fabulous  or  scandalous 
truths,  or  hearsay  truths,  founded  in  talebearing, 


118 

and  not  in  the  wholesome  rules  of  Matt,  xviii.  Luke 
xvii.  Rom.  xv.  1  Cor.  xiii.  and  Gal.  vi.  ;  not 
governed  by  the  true  light,  John  i.  9,  we  wander 
in  the  false  thick  darkness  of  scandalous  letter  writ- 
ing, one  member  to  another,  against  another  ;  one 
preacher  slandering  and  libelling  to  another,  to  annoy 
his  brother's  way  ;  one  telling  a  preacher,  whining 
and  blubbering  like  the  devil's  mush  pot,  their  tears 
being  enough  to  "  scald  a  crockadile" — oh  !  oh  ! 
sinking  down,  fainting,  dying,  and  bursting  with 
slander,  like  the  boilers  on  board  his  Luciferian, 
slandering  steam  boat ;  on  we  go,  putting  the 
quicksilver  of  whispering  into  the  family  and 
church  caldron  ;  O  man  of  God,  there  is  death  and 
lies,  instead  of  truth  and  love,  in  the  pot !  True 
worshippers  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  truth. 
John  iv.  23.  False  worshippers  worship  the  father 
of  lies  out  of  the  spirit  of  truth,  by  carrying  Abnd- 
don's  post  bag  of  defamation,  with  their  backs 
humped  up  like  racoons,  by  the  drawing  strings  of 
hell,  and  their  faces  all  drawn  up  into  angles,  tri- 
angles, twists,  winks,  nods,  lowers,  puckers,  and 
grimmaces,  as  the  middling  of  an  old  sow  boiled 
in  alum,  with  hair  and  teats  protuberant,  or  the 
face  tightened  up  like  a  drum  head,  but  not  equally 
musical. 

1  am  the  true  vine.  John  xv.  1.  Therefore, 
every  slandering  branch  in  me,  that  beareth  not  the 
fruit  of  mercy  and  truth  met  together,  and  mercy 
rejoicing  over  justice,  whosoever  acts  upon  back- 
biting truth,  which  is  lies  and  Gospel  truth  mixed 
together,  as  much  as  God  and  mammon,  is  lies 
against  thy  truth,  shall  be  taken  away.  Sanctify 
them  through  thy  truth :  thy  -word  is  truth.  John 
xvii.  17  j  not  through  whispering  and  backbiting 
truths,  such  as  he  got  drunk,  she  had  a  quarrel, 


119 

he  cursed,  she  swore,  I  will  tell  the  preacher — for 
these  are  lies  against  God's  truth,  and  every  preach- 
er who  receives  them,  and  acts  upon  them  unscrip- 
turally,  is  a  liar.  If  he  had  said,  sanctify  them 
through  suspicion,  through  asking  slandering,  cun- 
ning questions,  through  whispers,  and  the  devil's 
libelling  love  letters,  through  hearsay  evidence,  and 
rash,  unjust  judging s,  we  should  have  long  ere  now 
been  slanderously  sanctified.  But  blessed  be  God, 
it  is  by  love,  joy,  patience,  forgiveness,  and  over- 
coming  evil  with  good.  Thy  word  is  truth — What 
does  that  teach?  Go  and  tattle  to  leaders  and 
preachers  in  the  different  sects' and  parties,  and  act 
upon  tattles  ?  No,  no  ;  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 
1  Peter  iv.  8.  Love  cover eth  all  sins.  Prov.  x.  12. 
Forgive  seven  times  a  day,  if  he  repent,  until  se- 
venty times  seven,  that  is  four  hundred  and  ninety; 
restore  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  Gal.  vi :  not  put 
him  out,  if  he  is  guilty  of  what  would  exclude  him 
from  grace  and  glory  ;  but  if  he  will  not  hear  the 
language  of  meekness,  if  he  will  not  hear  two  or 
three  patient  and  gentle  reclaimers,  if  he  will  not 
hear  the  church,  then  put  him  out— this  is  the 
truth :  the  contrary  is  lies,  is  oppression,  though 
practised  contrary  to  the  word  of  truth  by  Paul, 
Apollos,  and  Cephas.  Brethren,  whatsoever  things 
are  true,  in  conformity  to  God's  truth,  think  on 
these  things.  Phil.  iv.  8.  That  is  to  say,  read  and 
be  led  more  by  the  law  and  the  testimony,  which 
is  the  word  of  truth,  than  the  best  rules  of  church 
government,  explained  and  enforced  by  men. 
Take  care  how  ye  trust  good  men  with  power. 
Attend  to  the  word  of  truth  from  him  who  is  a 
minister  of  the  sanctuary,  (or  of  holy  thuigs,  mar- 
gin )  and  of  the  true  tabernacle,  (not  of  our  false 
creeds  and  devil's  pediing)  which  the  Lord  pitch- 


120 

eth,  and  not  man.  Heb.  viii.  2.  Attend  to  this 
word  of  truth,  we  beseech  you,  to  the  utmost  ex- 
tent of  declared  patience,  forgiveness,  justice^  and 
mercy,  upon  all  occasions  rejoicing  over  justice, 
then,  and  not  until  then,  shall  we  belong  to  the  true 
tabernacle  which  God  pitched,  and  not  ?nan<  who, 
with  his  wisdom,  which  is  not  from  above,  forbids 
them  who  follows  not  us — loves  pre-eminence, 
raises,  hears,  and  sentences  very,  very  often  by  ly- 
ing truths :  that  is,  truths  mixed  up  with  envy, 
hearsays,  doubts,  and  revenge.  Many  who  know, 
who  are  well  acquainted  with  their  false  taberna- 
cles, which  man  hath  pitched  in  codes  of  church 
government,  are  equally  ignorant  of  the  principles, 
spirit,  and  rules  of  the  true  tabernacle  of  mercy 
and  truth  met  together,  which  God  pitched,  and  not 
man.  O  what  a  great  damnation  shall  he  have  in 
the  great  day,  who  has  been  a  pompous,  hard- 
hearted church  oppressor !  He  shall  have  judg- 
ment without  mercy,  whose  mercy  rejoiceth  not 
against  judgment,  xvhich  thing  is  true  in  him  and  in 
you.  1  John  ii.  8.  What  thing,  John  ?  A  true 
tale  of  drunkenness  to  a  preacher  or  church,  to 
have  the  wicked  curser  or  cheat  put  out  or  expel- 
led with  a  snort,  for  the  preacher  to  inquire  for 
tales,  and  paid  by  some  for  acting  upon  them  ? 
No,  no,  no  ;  but  he  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and 
hateth  his  brother,  by  whispering  and  backbiting, 
called  hating  of  God,  Rom.  i.  29,  30,  is  in  dark- 
ness ;  and  that  whether  he  tell  preacher  or  others, 
as  also  the  preacher,  whether  the  person  is  guilty 
or  not  guilty,  provided  the  steps  directed  by  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  by  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
were  not  taken.  "  Do  not  think  to  excuse  your- 
self, (saith  the  immortalized  John  Wesley,)  by 
saying,  why,  I  did  not  speak  to  any  one  until  I  was 


121 

so  burdened  that  I  could  not  refrain.  You  was  bur- 
dened !  And  what  way  have  you  found  to  unburden 
yourseif  ?  You  comfort  yourself  by  telling  your 
brother's  fault  to  another  person  !  Ease  bought  by 
sin  is  a  dear  purchase."  4th  vol.  p.  69.  Mark 
Wesley — if  you  reject  Christ,  Paul,  Cephas,  Mo- 
ses, and  the  prophets  ! 

Saith  he  that  is  true.  Rev.  iii.  7.  The  fountain 
or  foundation  of  truth.     What  truths?  Why,  that 
whisperers  and  backbiters  (are)  haters  of  God,  de- 
spiteful, proud.  Rom.  i.  29,  30.     And,  Lord  who 
shall  abide  in  thy  tabernacle  ?    Who  shall  dwell 
upon  thy  holy  hill  ?     He  that  backbiteth  not,  nor 
taketh  up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbour.  Psalm 
xvi.  3  ;  in  the  margin,  it  reads  or  receivtth,  or  en- 
dureth :  That  is  to  say,  he  that  receiveth  or  end  ir- 
eth  a  backbiting  tale,  without  reproving  the  devil's 
pedler  who  tells  it,  is  equally  out  of  the  church  mi- 
litant, as  he  who  backbites,  and  he  or  she  who 
takes  up  the  reproach  which  the  backbiter  drops ; 
for  David's  good  man  will  neither  backbite,  take  up 
a  reproach,  nor  suffer  others  to  backbite,  nor  take 
up  reproaches  against  others.  This  is  the  language 
of  him  the  holy  and  true,,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  spi- 
rit of  truth,  whom   the  (slandering)  world  cannot 
receive.  John  xiv.  17.   Speak  evil  of  no  man.  Titus 
iii.  2,     If  thy  brother  trespass,  go  and  tell  him  his 
fault  between  thee  and  him  alone,  until  severity 
times  seven.  Matt,  xviii.  15,  22.     This  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  spirit  of  truth — The  comforter  whom 
I  (saith  Jesus)  will  send  unto  you,  from  the  Father, 
even  the  spirit  of  truth.  John  xv.  26.     The  con- 
trary, which  is  to  tell  tales  to  churches,  preach- 
ers, and  others  is  from  the  spirit  of  lies  ;  yea,  and 
all  who  receive  such  tales  are  liars  and  thieves,  rne 
receivers  being  as  the  other  thieves.     What  do  ye? 

JU 


122 

think  ?  What  have  ye  to  say  for  yourselves,  ye 
whispering,  hissing  serpents,  ye  generation  of  bit- 
ing vipers,  how  can  ye  expect  to  escape  the  dam- 
nation of  hell  ?  O.  but  say  you,  he  must  repent  if 
we  wait  four  hundred  and  ninety  times.  Matt,  xviii. 
Yes,  and  there  is  hardly  one  in  four  hundred  and 
ninety,  but  would  repent  if  Messrs.  Wesley,  Blair, 
Massillon,  and  Tillotson's  methods  were  pursued, 
but  still  more  so,  if  the  prophets,  Jesus,  and  the 
apostles  were  adhered  to.  /  came  into  the  world 
(saith  Chrisi)  that  I  should  bear  witness  tint o  the 
truth.  John  xviii.  57  ;  not  as  some  ministers  of 
slander  do  when  they  bear  witness  unto  whispering 
truth,  mixed  up  of  hearsays,  malice,  corruption, 
and  envy :  he  adds,  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth, 
heareth  my  .  voice ;  that  is,  of  God,  of  revealed 
truth,  which  \s  forgive,  love,  and  restore  in  the  spi- 
rit of  meekness.  Gai.  vi.  1  ;  not  have  him  up,  like 
a  sailor  to  the  gangway,  or  as  a  soldier  to  the  guard- 
house to  whip,  or  put  him  out,  but  to  cover  a  mul- 
titude of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8.  Pilate  said  xvhat  is 
truth?  Jesus  saith,  lam  the  truth,  John  xiv.  6. 
J  am  the  fountain,  author,  and  doctor  of  truth,  or 
of  my  church,  who  teach  them  what  course  to  take 
to  get  to  heaven  ;  he  is  opposed  to  all  error,  false- 
hood, and  lies.  Whoever,  therefore,  teacheth,  re- 
ceiveth,  or  acteth  upon  any  other  system  of  opin- 
ions than  this  truth,  is  a  liar,  even  allowing  what 
he  relates  or  receives  to  be  a  fact :  For  instance, 
St  Peter  saith,  honor  all  men,  love  the  brotherhood. 
1  Peter  ii.  17 ;  unless,  then,  that  some  slandering 
Diotrephes,  or  devil's  pedler  can  make  it  evident 
that  receiving  sly,  secret,  malignant  tales  unscrip- 
turaily,  against  a  member,  and  acting  unjustly  by 
exparte  testimony  thereupon,  to  the  great  oppres- 
sion and  damnation  of  thousands,  is  Gospel  truth. 


123 

is  imitating  him  who  is,  who  was,  and  who  is  fc> 
come,  to  punish  such  upstart  tyrants  ;  we  hope 
to  be  indulged  with  the  liberty  of  sounding  the  fol- 
lowing words  in  their  ears,  before  their  high  might- 
inesses get  so  much  power  from  their  wrong,  irre- 
verent father,  the  devil,  in  lies,  as  to  render  even 
rational  remonstrance  impracticable  :  0  foolish  Ga- 
latians,  (or  slanderers)  who  hath  bewitched  you, 
that  ye  should  not  obey  the  'whole  Gospel)  truth. 
Gal.  iii.  I  ;  which  is  to  remonstrate  lovingly,  pa- 
tiently, and  faithfully,  until  seventy  times  seveny 
that  is,  four  hundred  and  ninety  times,  privately, 
with  thy  brother,  if  he  shew  any  signs  of  repent- 
ance, before  you  tell  even  a  receiver  of  stolen  repu- 
tations !  ! 

And  1  saiv  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a  white 
horse,  (not  the  black  horse  of  slanderous  truth,) 
and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  faithful  and 
true.  Rev.  xix.  i  1  .  Of  course,  every  whisperer 
who  differs  from  him  is  false,  is  a  liar,  even  if  he 
tell  nothing  but  the  fact  committed — such  as  to  say 
he  fought,  she  scolded,  he  was  intoxicated,  or  she 
was  a  slanderer  ;  these  things  having  been  spoken 
in  an  unscriptural  way,  mark  the  departure  from 
him  who  is  true,  who  ha,th  commanded  us  to  love 
our  neighbour  as  ourselves,  and  first  to  cast  the 
beam  out  of  our  own  eyes.  He  that  is  of  a  faithful 
spirit  concealeth  the  matter.  Prov.  xi.  13.  All 
the  faithful  are  concealers  ;  those  who  act  the  con- 
trary part  are  untrue,  are  unfaithful ;  reprove  in 
love,  forgive  in  charity,  conceal  in  faith,  restore  in 
the  spirit  of  meekness,  pardon  as  a  God,  sue  as  a 
lawyer,  or  slander  like  your  father  the  devil.  Cha- 
rity never  faileth,  this  is  the  truth :  whenever, 
then,  we  begin  to  backbite,  we  are  immediately  de- 
void of  charity,  and  are  liars  against  loving  faith. 


124 

For  this  cause  also  we  thank  God  without  ceasing \ 
hecause  when  ye  received  the  word  of  God,  which 
ye  heard  of  us,  ye  received  it  not  as  the  word  of 
wen,  but  (as  it  is  in  truth)  the  word  of  God.  1 
Thess.  ii.  13.  Are  we  so  blind,  then,  as  not  to 
see  and  confess  that  any  and  every  departure  from 
this  word  of  God,  and  consequently  from  this  truth, 
is  a  lie  ?  And  that  too,  whether  what  we  say  in  a 
slanderous  way  be  even  acknowledged  to  have 
been  a  fact,  it  being  self-evident  that  God  must  be 
true,  and  all  backbiters  liars,  their  truths  having 
no  mercy  or  pity  mixed  therewith  ;  whereas  God's 
truth  is  mercy  and  truth  met  together.  All  the 
paths  of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth.  Psalm  xxv, 
10.  Mercy  and  truth  have  met  together;  right- 
eousness and  peace  have  kissed  each  other.  Psalm 
Jxxxv.  10.  How  much  mercy  is  mixed  with  ten 
thousand  whispering,  envious  tales  to  a  preacher, 
do  you  think  ?  Or  wherein  doth  righteousness  and 
peace  kiss  each  other,  when  we  unscripturally  tt  11 
upon,  instead  of  telling  to  our  brother  the  fault  in 
which  he  is  unfortunately  overtaken  ?  As  you  can- 
not answer  in  the  affirmative,  by  proving  what  it  is 
impossible  for  any  open  mouthed  or  sly  slanderer 
to  make  evident,  the  consequence  is  plain,  that  al- 
though you  may  have  truth  in  the  slander,  either 
;;s  the  communicator  or  receiver,  yet  that  truth  be- 
ing of  a  hellish  nature,  having  for  its  basis  the  ma- 
licious intentions  of  a  slandering  propagator,  pros- 
ecutor, and  receiver,  it  is  a  lie  coming  in  competi- 
tion with  the  true  rules  laid  down  in  Lev.  xix. 
16,  18;  Psalm  xv.  1,  3;  Prov.  x.  18;  Matt. 
xviii.  15,  22;  Luke  xvii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5  ;  TitusYu. 
2;  Col.  hi.  13  ;  Gal.  vi.  1  to  4  ;  James  iv.  11  ; 
Eph.iw.  31.  Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  an- 
ger.  and  clamor.,  and  evil  speaking,  be  put  away 


125 

from  you  with  all  malice.  And  be  ije  kind  one  to 
another,  tender  hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  even 
as  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  hath  for  given  you.  This 
is  (as  Paul  saith)  the  grace  of  God  in  truth.  Col. 
i.  6  ;  the  contrary  is  the  devil's  graceless  lie  against 
the  above  revealed  truths,  even  allowing  what  the 
sly  whisperer  told  the  unscriptural  receiver  to  be  a 
fact ;  as  it  is  manifest  that  all  who  act  against  the 
word  of  revealed  truth  are  liars,  though  angels  from 
heaven.  Hear  St.  John,  with  John  Wesley's  com- 
ment— If  we  say  we  have  not  sinned,  we  make 
him  a  liar,  and  his  word  (of  truth)  is  not  in  us. 
1  John  i.  10.  "  Still,  if  we  say  we  have  not  sinned, 
we  make  him  a  liar,  who  saith  all  have  sinned,  and 
his  word  is  not  in  us.  We  do  not  receive  it ;  we 
give  it  no  place  in  our  hearts."  So  that  any  decla- 
ration in  opposition  to  his  word  of  truth  is  a  lie. 
He  that  saith  I  know  him,  and  keepeth  not  his  com- 
mandments  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  (of  God's  word) 
is  not  in  him.  1  John  ii.  4.  Here  is  a  plain  proof, 
that  when  the  truth  forbids  backbiting,  he  is  a  liar 
who  whispers,  even  granting  his  narration  to  be  a 
fact :  it  is  a  lie  against  the  Holy  Gospel. 

But,  may  the  objector  reply,  if  the  truth  of  God 
hath  abounded,  has  been  more  abunelantly  shewn, 
through  my  lie — If  my  lie,  that  is  slandering  prac- 
tice, contrary  to  (Holy  Ghost)  truth,  conduces  to 
the  glory  of  God,  why  am  I  judged  as  a  sinner  ? 
Can  this  be  said  to  be  sin  at  all? — Ought  I  not  to 
do  what  woulel  otherwise  be  evil,  that  so  much 
slandering  good  may  come  ?  To  this  the  apostle 
does  not  deign  to  give  a  direct  answer,  but  cuts  the 
objector  short  with  a  severe  reproof — Whose  con- 
demnation is  just :  the  condemnation  of  all  who 
either  speak  or  act  in  this  manner.  So  the  apostle 
absolutely  denies  the  lawfulness  oidoing  evil — any 

l2 


126 

evil,  that  good  may  come.  Rom.  iii.  7,  3.  In  short, 
if  slandering  truths,  such  as  he  got  drunk,  she 
dressed  too  fine,  he  is  proud,  she  is  vain,  he  quar- 
relled, or  she  whispered,  they,  the  slanderer's  nam- 
ing the  person,  promotes  the  glory  of  God,  why  are 
we  commanded  negatively  not  to  whisper,  back- 
bite, rail,  or  revile,  throughout  the  Old  and  New 
Testament?  It  would  be  better  even  to  preach 
Christ,  as  some  anciently  did,  in  pretence,  under 
color  of  propagating  the  Gospel  in  truth,  Phil.  i.  18. 
than  for  us,  who  know  the  Gospel  rules  of  loving  m 
mercy  and  truth  met  together,  Psalm  lxxxv.  10, 
to  turn  patient,  long  suffering,  scriptural  truth  into 
slanderous  lies  against  Christian  chanty,  which  co- 
vered! a  multitude  of  sins. 

But  we  speak  all  things  to  you  in  truth.  2  Cor. 
vii.  14.  The  whole  truth,  a  part  of  which  is,  re- 
store thy  brother  in  the  spirit  of  meekness.  Gal.  vi. 
1,  by  gentle  reproof,  instruction,  and  private  ex- 
hortation, lest  thou  also  be  tempted.  "  Temptation 
easily  and  swiftly  passes  from  one  to  another ;  es- 
pecially if  a  man  endeavors  to  cure  another,  with- 
out preserving  his  own  meekness.  But  verily  let 
every  man  try  his  own  work.  Narrowly  examine 
all  he  is  and  all  he  doth  :  and  then  shall  he  have  re- 
joicing in  himself;  he  will  find  in  himself  matter  of 
rejoicing,  if  his  works  are  right  before  God,  and 
not  in  another — not  in  glorying  over  others." — 
J.  Wesley. 

Read  the  following  truths  :  I  will  be  their  God, 
in  truth  and  in  righteousness.  Zach.  viii.  8.  Not 
sly  or  slanderous  truth.  Israel  shall  stay  upon  the 
Lord,  the  Hoiy  one  of  Israel,  in  truth.  Isaiah  x.  20. 
Not  upon  the  unholy  one  of  whispering  and  re- 
vengeful truth.  For  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  right, 
and  all  his  works  are  done  in  truth.  Psalm  xxxiii.  4. 


127 

But  the  talebearing  word  of  the  devil  to  a  church  in 
malice  is  wrong ;  and  all  such  slandering,  malig- 
nant works  are  done  in  lies  against  the  right  word 
of  truth.  All  his  commandments  arc  sure  :  they 
stand  fast  for  ever  and  ever,  and  are  done  in  truth 
and  uprightness.  Psalm  cxi.  7,  8.  Contrary  there- 
unto, all  talebearings  are  doubtful;  they  cannot 
stand  forever,  and  are  done  in  lies  and  villainy. 
Only  fear  the  Lord  and  serve  him  in  truth.  1  Sam. 
xii  24.  Not  with  the  fearless  slanderer's  whipping 
truths,  malicious  truths,  truths  to  have  a  negro  tied 
up,  a  stranger  blockaded,  a  match  to  be  broke,  or 
a  member  to  be  put  out  of  society  ;  but  the  truth 
in  love,  to  cover  all  sins,  Prov.  x.  12,  the  multi- 
tude of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8  ;  to  forgive  seven  times 
in  a  day,  Luke  xvii,  until  four  hundred  and  ninety 
times.  Matt.  18.  Mercy  is  great  unto  the  hea- 
vens, and  thy  truth  unto  the  clcuds.  Psalm  Ivii.  10. 
But  talebearing  implacability  is  enviously  small, 
down  to  the  hell  of  hells  ;  and  the  aiders,  abettors, 
and  counsellors  of  such  slandering  truths  are  liars 
against  God's  truth,  which  reacheth  unto  the  hea- 
ve?is.  Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  thy  face. 
Psalm  Ixxxix.  14.  But  the  talebearer's  truth  hav- 
ing no  mercy  accompanying  it,  is  therefore  a  lie 
against  mercy  and  truth  met  together,  and  that  even 
though  what  they  said  was  a  fact,  for  the  question 
before  us  is  not  whether  the  thing  spoken  be  a  fact, 
but  whether  that  fact  agrees  with  our  duty,  as  laid 
down  by  him  who  is  the  truth,  arid  that  word  of 
life,  which  is  the  word  of  truth,  in  competition  to 
which  all  persons,  every  thing,  and  system  are  liars* 
I  will  sing  of  mercy  and  judgment,  saith  David. 
Psalm  ci.  1.  Not  of  unmerciful  church  slanders 
too,  and  by  unjust  and  exparte  judgment.  Let  not 
mercy  and  truth  forsake  thee.  Prov.  iii.  3.     Not 

I 


128 

the  unmcrcifulncss  of  slanderous,  whispering  truth, 
but  loving,  reclaiming,  patient,  Gospel  truth  ; 
which  is  as  far  removed  from  the  iniquity  of  the 
day  as  God  from  the  devil,  as  heaven  from  hell !  ! 
Do  they  not  err  that  desire  evil  ?  But  mercy  and 
truth  shall  be  to  them  that  devise  good.  Prov. 
xiv.  :>2.  If  mercy  and  truth,  or  merciful,  instead 
of  defamatory  truth,  was  the  religious  topic,  how 
soon  would  our  union  result  in  the  most  heavenly, 
instead  of  the  at  present  direful  results  ?  Alas  ! 
among  the  w7orks  of  the  flesh,  which  are  manifest, 
the  hydra  slander  stalks  forward  with  its  hellish 
brood  of  hatred,  variance,  emulations,  wrath,  strife, 
sedition,  heresies,  envyings,  murders,  Gal.  v.  be- 
ing nine  out  of  seventeen  damnable  sins  named  by 
the  apostle,  five  of  which  are  made  plural  to  shew 
their  legion,  namely,  emulations,  seditions,  here- 
sies, envyings  and  murders.  Sanctify  them  through 
thy  truth  :  thy  word  is  truth.  John  xvii.  1 7.  How 
long  do  you  think  it  would  take  to  sanctify  them 
through  slandering  truths,  such  as,  O  brother  or 
sister  tell  the  preacher,  I'll  tell  the  church,  he  is  a 
drunkard,  she  is  a  tattler,  which  practice  is  con- 
trary to  Moses,  Jesus,  and  St.  Paul,  all  of  which 
forbid  Gospel  gossipping,  which  is,  by  the  defam- 
er,  put  in  the  stead  of  mercy  and  truth  met  togeth- 
er, righteousness  and  peace  kissing  each  other. 
Psalm  Ixxxv.  10.  A  certain  proof  this,  that  al- 
though the  church  gossipper,  or  Luciferian  pedler, 
tells  a  truth,  yet  that  truth  not  being  mercy  and 
truth  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  kissing 
each  other  ;  but  on  the  contrary  is  unrighteous  and 
whispering  truth,  unmercifulness,  productive  of 
discord,  which  is  every  where  forbidden  by  the 
law,  prophets,  Christ,  and  apostles,  which  makes 
it  a  lie,  it  being  manifest  that  whatever  is  opposed 


129 

to  the  sanctification  of  Holy  Ghost  truth  is  an  un- 
holy ghost  lie  !  Yea,  (saith  Paul)  let  God  be  true, 
but  every  man  (opposed  to  his  truth)  a  liar.  Bom. 
in.  4. 

Mr.  and  Misses  Truth  lie,  read  the  following 
Scriptures  :  I  have  not  written  unto  you,  because 
ye  know  not  the  truth,  but  because  ye  know  it, 
and  that  no  lie  is  of  the  truth.  1  John  ii.  23.  What 
truth?  Why  any  Holy  Ghost  truth.  Instance 
one.  Yes,  we  will,  as  follows  :  Who  is  a  liar,  but 
he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  He  is  an- 
tichrist that  denieth  the  father  and  the  son.  ver.  22. 
Why  is  he  a  liar  and  an  antichrist  ?  Ansxv.  Be- 
cause he  denies  what  the  word  of  truth  affirms  ;  by 
which  general  rule  every  intention,  affirmation,  or 
practice  which  opposes  divine  truth  is  a  lie,  and  its 
propagator  a  liar,  though  a  bishop,  if  he  receive  an 
unmerciful  slandering  tale,  instead  of  merciful  Gos- 
pel truth,  peace  and  righteousness.  Read  the  fol- 
lowing truths  :  The  wicked  are  estranged  from  the 
womb :  they  go  astray  as  soon  as  they  are  born, 
speaking  lies.  Psalm  Iviii.  3.  Corrupt  church 
whispering,  herein  has  its  origin,  namely,  our  birth; 
— Where,  then,  is  Felagianism  ?  For  (saith  Isaiah) 
I  knew  that  thou  wouldest  deal  very  treacherous1}*, 
and  wast  called  a  transgressor  from  the  womb.  Isa. 
xlviii.  8;  of  a  slandering  family.  Surely  men  of 
high  degree  is  a  lie,  Psalm  lxii.  9,  being  pompous- 
ly opposed  to  revelation  and  religion  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  in  the  truth  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  is 
the  case  of  the  church  pedler  and  devil's  trader, 
when  they  relate  a  truth  unscripturally. 

Ephraim  compasseth  me  about  with  lies.  Hosea 
xi.  12.  So  have  the  world  and  church  slanderers 
who  have  the  beams  of  malignity  and  religious  hy- 
pocrisy in  their  own  eves.  Matt.  vii.  1  to  5  ;  be  • 


130 

cause  they  received  not  the  love  of  the  truth  ;  for 
this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion, 
that  they  should  believe  a  (slandering)  lie,  (to  be 
scriptural  truth  ;)  that  they  all  might  be  damned 
who  believed  not  the  (scriptural)  truth,  but  had 
pleasure  in  unrighteousness.  2  Thess.  ii.  11,  12. 
God  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  lie.  Num.  xxiii. 
19.  And  therefore  all  liars  against  revelation  shall 
have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burnetii  with  fire 
and  brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death.  Rev. 
xxi.  8  ;  as  are  all  who  tell  preachers  and  leaders, 
instead  of  reclaiming  their  brethren.  For  without 
are  whosoever  loveth  and  makcth  a  ^slandering 
truth,  which  is  a  Church)  lie.  Rev.  xxii.  15,  which 
is  a  lie  against  the  word  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But, 
blessed  be  God,  loving  and  forgiving  Christians 
are  children  that  will  not  lie ;  so  he  was  their  Sa- 
viour. Isaiah  Ixiii.  8. 

Slanderers,  as  were  the  Cretans,  Titus  i.  12,  are 
all  liars.  I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  labour,  (to  keep 
down  whispering)  and  thy  patience,  (with  backslid- 
ing members  of  society)  and  how  thou  canst  not 
bear  them  which  are  (slanderously)  evil ;  and  thou 
hast  tried  them  which  say  they  are  (loving,  long 
suffering,  forgiving)  apostles,  and  are  not,  (they 
being  receivers  of  stolen  characters)  and  hast  found 
them  liars.  Rev.  ii.  2.  That  is,  liars  against  Lev. 
xix.  16,  18.  Psalm  xv.  3.  Prov.  x.  12,  18.  Matt. 
vii.  1  to  5,  and  xviii.  15,  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 
Luke  xvii.  3,  4,  5.  Gal.  vi.  1  to  5.  If  we  say  that 
we  have  not  sinned,  we  make  him  a  liar,  and  his 
word  is  not  in  us.  1  John  i.  10.  Why  ?  Answer. 
Because  we  deny  what  he  hath  asserted,  namely, 
that  they  are  all  gone  out  of  the  way.  Rom.  iii.  12. 
So  is  a  whispering  truth  a  lie  against  God's  word. 
They  that  observe  lying  (slanderous)  vanities,  for- 


131 

sake  their  own  mercy.  Jonah  ii.  8.  He  that  be- 
lie veth  not  God  (much  less  he  that  sets  up  whis- 
pering for  church  government)  hath  made  him  a 
liar  ;  because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God 
gave.  1  John  v.  10.  So  that  not  to  believe  scripture 
truth  is  a  lie  against  God — much  more  so  are  those 
who  set  up  a  slandering  truth  against  mercy  and 
truth  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  kissing 
each  other.  Psalm  lxxxv.  10.  Trust  ye  not  in 
lying  words,  (which  are  spoken  in  opposition  to  re- 
velation) saying  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple 
of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord  are  these. 
(Church  whisperers,  who  tell  upon  brethren  to 
preachers  unscripturally.;  Jcr.  vii.  4.  To  con- 
clude— Let  God  be  true  ^who  hath  enjoined 
us  to  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves,  to  tell 
him  between  us  and  him  of  his  faults,  to  restore 
him  in  the  spirit  of  meekness.  Gal.  vi.  To  cover  a 
multitude  of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8.  To  coverall  sins. 
Prov.  x.  12.  To  do  as  we  ivould  be  clone  by.  Matt* 
vii.  12.  and  every  man  (who  teaches  or  practices 
otherwise)  is  a  liar.  Pom.  iii.  4.  Otherwise,  let  him 
take  the  contrary  course,  and  tell  slanderous  truths, 
which  are  forbidden  by  God's  truth,  and  then  the 
consequence  of  his  disavowal  will  be,  the  making 
of  God  a  liar,  according  to  1  John  i.  10.  He  that 
believeth  not  God,  hath  made  him  a  liar;  because 
he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God  gave  !  ! 

As  it  is  malice  aforethought  which  constitutes 
the  crime  of  murder,  it  is  immaterial  how  it  is  done, 
whether  by  slander,  lead,  or  steel ;  poison,  money, 
or  laudanum  ;  by  biting  dogs  or  biting  men. 
They  have  sharpened  their  tongues  like  a  serpent, 
(saith  David)  adder's  poison  is  under  their  lips. 
Psalm  cxl.  3.  They  go  astray  as  soon  as  they  are 
born,  speaking  lies.  Psalm  lviii.  S.     Their  throat 


132 

is  an  open  sepulchre.  Rom,  iii.  13.  Hatred  stir- 
reth  up  strifes  ;  violence  covereth  the  mouth  of  the 
wicked.  Prov.  x.  11,  12.  Here  is  the  source  of 
murder ;  the  natural  and  habitual  aspishness  of 
man,  adder's  poison  from  the  heart  of  malignity, 
through  the  all  infecting,  all  poisoning,  universally 
contagious  throat,  morally  putrefactive,  sharpened 
into  the  tongue  of  a  serpent,  set  on  fire  of  hell,  un- 
til a  diabolical  gangrene  defiles  the  whole  body, 
politic  and  religious,  thus  resulting  in  a  world  of 
iniquity,  each  of  whose  malicious  murderers  is  thus 
described  by  the  wise  man  :  An  ungodly  man  dig- 
geth  up  evil,  and  in  his  lips  there  is  a  burning  fire. 
Prov,  xvi.  27.  You  here  see  the  true  picture  of  a 
slandering  murderer ;  they  are  the  devil's  miners, 
digging  up  your  ancestors  out  of  their  graves  ;  dig- 
ging up  from  under  the  deep  oblivion  of  time  and 
charity,  the  reputation  of  the  objects  of  their  ma- 
lignity. In  their  lips,  saith  Solomon,  there  is  a 
.burning  fire ;  hot,  burning  slanderers,  whose 
tongues  consume  name,  fame,  property,  life,  and, 
what  is  most  ruinous,  destroy  souls  in  hell  fire  ! 
whither  their  digging  and  burning  is  hastening 
themselves.  Why  then  leave  it  discretionary  with 
a  jury  without  statute,  whether  such  serpents,  such 
malicious  murderers,  such  universal  burners  and 
cannibals  shall  come  off  with  honor  from  a  jury, 
one  third  of  whom  may  be  under  undue  influence, 
the  other  third  badly  informed,  and  the  other  pot 
valiant  ?  How  much  better  would  it  be  to  make  a 
definitive  statute  upon  such  crimes,  bringing  those 
slanderers,  who  commit  murder  of  malice  afore- 
thought by  their  malignant  pLns,  whispers,  and  li- 
bels, under  the  law  of  unjustifiable  homicide,  or 
killing  ?  As  also  the  slandering  felon,  who  robs 
us  by  slander,  under  that  of  felony  ?     Surely  the 


133 

whole  representation  of  the  state  would  be  more 
likely  to  feel  and  express  the  sense  of  Virginia,  and 
of  justice,  than  ordinary  or  extraordinary  juries; 
more  especially,  as  they  well  know  by  having  ex- 
perienced the  effects  of  slander,  how  to  stem  the 
"  all  devouring"  plague — for,  as  a  full  proof  of  its 
fountain,  He  that  hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer. 
1  John  iii.  15  ;  and  to  prove,  beyond  contradiction, 
that  men  intend  murder  by  slander  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing inspired  declaration,  that  m  thee  are  inen 
that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood.  Ezekiel  xxii  9  ;  or, 
as  the  marginal  Hebrew  has  it,  men  of  slanders ; 
so  that  tales  are  called  slanders,  bloody  murdering 
tales,  or  slanders. 

Put  them  in  mind  to  speak  evil  of  no  man,  saith 
Paul  to  Titus,  iii.  1,  2.  Observe,  he  don't  say 
speak  lies  of  no  man,  evil  speaking  being  the  same 
as  backbiting — which,  as  the  learned  Adam  Clarke 
saith,  is  derived  from  two  words,  namely,  against, 
and  /  speak,  that  is,  to  speak  against  a  person. 

If  a  man  has  done  any  thing  unchristian  or  un- 
lawful, let  the  church  proceed  as  our  Lord  directs. 
Matt,  xviii.  15.  Let  us  sue,  but  not  slander  ;  let 
us  not  "  revenge  ourselves  by  the  odious  course  of 
libelling,"  or  defaming  by  the  tongue.  Carefully 
read  the  three  first  verses  of  the  fifteenth  Psalm, 
and  you  will  there  plainly  discover  that  to  back- 
bite, to  take  up  what  the  backbiter  drops  in  his  or 
her  mad  career  of  scattering  firebrands,  arrows,  and 
death,  or,  as  the  margin  has  it,  or  receiveth,  or  en- 
dureth,  places  us  in  the  devil's  right,  so  that  to 
backbite,  to  take  up  the  reproach  which  the  back- 
biter drops,  or  to  endure  it  in  our  hearing  without 
reproof,  excludes  us,  in  David's  opinion,  from 
God's  tabernacle  and  his  holy  hill.  Solomon  saith, 
that  he  that  uttereth  slander  is  a  fool.  Prov.  x.  18. 

M 


134 

To  utter  is  to  uncover,  reveal,  circulate,  or  publish* 
Would  you  give  judgment  of  two  punishments  for 
one  crime,  or  two  payments  for  one  debt  ?  No,  no, 
say  you.  Well,  then,  is  it  not  enough  that  a  per- 
son go  to  the  penitentiary  for  stealing  a  horse,  suf- 
fer and  work  the  worth  of  six  horses,  without  us 
slandering  him  the  worth  of  twenty  ?  The  word 
slander,  from  ferlimedung  or  schaenden,  (Teutonic) 
signifies  to  cause  shame,  to  scandalize,  to  reproach, 
rail,  revile,  whisper  against,  to  backbite,  or  speak 
evil  of  a  person. 

The  great  lord  Bacon  saith,  "  It  is  no  excuse  at* 
the  bar  of  conscience,  that  the  slanderous  words 
spoken  are  true."  Thereby  admitting  that  slan- 
derous words  spoken  are  true  ;  yea,  maliciously 
and  inconsiderately  true,  with  a  wink  and  a  smile. 
"  Smiling,  very  often,  is  the  aspect,  and  smooth 
are  the  words  of  those  who  inwardly  are  the  most 
ready  to  think  evil  of  others. "  And  we  may  add, 
that  this  smiling  lip'd  murder,  belongs  to  some  fa- 
milies. 

When  Knox,  the  Scotch  reformer,  urged  the 
express  declarations  of  the  Scripture,  which  en- 
joined conformity  to  the  divine  law  in  opposition 
to  human  authority — "  If  so,  (said  Arbugkili)  you 
will  leave  us  no  church.  "  Yes,  (rejoined  Knox, 
sarcastically,)  in  David  I  read,  Psalm  xxvi.  5,  of 
the  church  of  malignants,*  this  church  you  may- 
have  without  the  word,  and  fighting  against  it." 
This  was  also  the  church  of  Nero  and  Domitian  ; 
as  St.  Melito,  bishop  of  Sardis,  remonstrates  with 
M.  Antoninus,  A.  D.  170 — "  None  but  Nero  and 

*  Odi  ecclesiam  malignantium :  I  hate,  or  have  hated  the 
congregation  (or  church)  of  evil  doers.  Psalm  xxvi.  5,  or 
nlalignants. 


135 

Domitian,  instigated  by  cruel  and  ill- minded  men, 
have  attempted  to  reproach  and  calumniate  our  re- 
ligion ;  whence  sprang  the  common  slanders  con- 
cerning us,  the  injudicious  vulgar,  greedily  enter- 
taining such  reports  without  any  strict  examina- 
tion." 

As  murder,  confiscation,  banishment,  and  all 
other  rapines  and  vexations  were  produced  in  those 
days  against  the  innocent  by  slanderers  ;  so  also  is  it 
to  this  day,  in  church  and  state — Therefore,  all 
slanderers  who  belong  to  the  church  of  the  ?nalig- 
nants  are  murderers  :  for  he  that  hateth  his  brother 
is  a  murderer.  1  John  iii.  15 ;  they  are  thieves  of 
reputation — u  He  who  steals  my  purse  is  a  trash 
thief,"  when  compared  with  him;  he  is  a  liar 
against  that  charity  which  covers,  bears  long  with, 
and  forgives  the  multitude  of  sins,  1  Cor.  xiii.  4, 
7.  1  Peter  iv.  8,  covers  a  multitude  of  sins.  Prov. 
x.  12.  They  are  hypocrites  with  the  beam  of  ill- 
will  ;  if  not,  perhaps  they  are  proud,  vain,  unmer. 
ciful,  ungrateful,  bad  to  slaves,  to  the  poor,  haughty, 
or  double  minded  to  the  stranger,  or  always  join- 
ing the  strongest  side;  are  revengeful,  unforgiving, 
making  a  God  of  furniture,  dress,  high  living, 
grandeur,  family,  or  beauty ;  are  gluttons,  feather 
bed  drunkards,  extortioners,  bigots, or  persecutors; 
in  a  word,  those  who  are  living  in  any  known  sin, 
are  hypocrites,  while  they  are  whispering,  cack- 
ling, and  circulating  their  villainies,  and  will  not 
make  a  concession,  neither  forgive  their  enemies. 
Matt.  vii.  1  to  5. 

Ingratitude  is  damning,  so  also  is  revenge  ;  so 
shall  it  be  with  the  unforgiving,  high  eyed,  haughty 
maligners.  Ingratitude  is  one  of  the  basest  crimes  ; 
nevertheless,  it  ill  becomes  any  person  to  accuse 
another  of  ingratitude,  when  they  themselves  pro- 


136 

voke  it  by  secret,  sly  intrigues,  or  otherwise  doing 
a  greater  injury  to  the  person  or  persons  to  whom 
they  have  been  kind,  than  they  have  done  them  fa- 
vors :  more  especially  when  those  favors  have  had 
for  their  objects  either  praise  or  gain,  or,  what  is 
equally  as  bad,  that  their  benevolence  was  always 
partial,  double-minded,  or  reluctant.  And  certain- 
ly to  raise  so  high  a  tax  as  that  of  sleepless,  per- 
petual hatred,  envy,  railing,  and  revenge  upon  such 
hypocritical  friendship,  with  the  epithets  of  rascal, 
villain,  ingratitude,  Sec.  discovers  the  devil's  prin- 
ciple, or  capitol  of  implacability,  and  his  compound 
interest  of  perpetual  motion,  that  is  to  say  eternal 
revenge;  "I  never,  never  will  speak  to  them,  to 
him,  or  to  her,"  say  your  high,  hellish,  puffed  up, 
double  distilled,  proud,  sly,  revengeful  families  and 
individuals,  bursting  at  last  with  wrormwood  and 
gall,  like  the  toad  fish,  or  a  bladder  blown  up  with 
the  foul  breath  of  slander  from  the  lungs  of  a  dae- 
-;•-••!•.  But,  we  ought  ever  to  acknowledge  favors, 
although  coming  to  us  through  such  mediums  ; 
and  it*  we  are  even  ill  treated,  and  speak  of  it,  we 
should  acknowledge  our  ingratitude,  although  we 
have  known  those  from  whom  we  have  received 
them  to  have  been  our  enemies.  First- — To  obey 
God  who  hath  said,  "  vengeance  is  mine."  Se- 
condly— To  have  the  shew  of  gratitude.  Thirdly 
— To  overcome  evil  with  good.  Fourthly — Not 
to  be  overcome  of  evil.  Rom.  xii.  21.  Fifthly — 
To  forgive,  expecting  forgiveness.  Matt,  xvhi. 
35,  and  vi  15.  But  if  ye  forgive  not,  neither  will 
your  father,  which  is  in  heaven,  forgive  your  tres- 
passes. Mark  xi.  26 ;  always  endeavouring,  if  it 
be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  us,  to  live  peacea- 
bly with  all  men.  Rom.  xii.  18.  As  there  is  hardly 
a  man  or  woman  but  what  has  a  kick,  start,  stura- 


137 

ble,  balk,  or  fall  in  their  gallop  through  life,  we 
should  put  on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  holy 
and  beloved,  bowels  of  mercies,  kindness,  humble- 
ness of  mind,  meekness,  long  suffering — if  any 
man  have  a  quarrel  (or  complaint)  against  any,  for- 
give him  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye. 
Col.  iii.  12,  13. 

Let  nothing  be  done  through  strife  or  vain  glo- 
ry, but  in  lowliness  of  mind,  let  each  esteem  other 
better  than  themselves.  Phil.  ii.  3.  And  instead 
of  whispering,  railing,  and  lordly  severity,  let  us 
hear  the  wise  master  builder — "  Brethren,  if  any 
man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  ye  which  are  spiritual, 
restore  such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  con- 
sidering thyself,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted  ;  bear 
ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ.  Gal.  vi.  1,  2.  The  cowardly,  sly  tale- 
bearer, and  all  who  act  upon  hearsay  evidence, 
should  put  about  ship,  and  hear  the  following 
words — Moreover,  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass 
against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  thee 
and  him  alone :  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast 
gained  thy  brother.  And  if  impatient,  haughty 
Peter  should  ask,  How  oft  shall  my  brother  offend 
against  me  and  I  forgive  him  ?  Till  seven  times  ? 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  say  not  unto  thee  until  se- 
ven times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven.  Matt. 
xviii.  How  can  we  expect  that  God  will  forgive 
us  the  ten  thousand  talents,  when  we  will  not  for- 
give an  hundred  pence?  After  all  our  boasting  and 
pride,  our  judging  and  censure,  we  must  be  wiih- 
out  sin  if  we  throw  a  single  stone ;  therefore,  ye 
who  think  you  never  can  be  delivered  from  sin  in 
this  life,  ought  not  to  throw  one,  and  those  who 
believe  they  can  be  saved  therefrom,  ought  to  be 
first  made  perfect  in  love,  and  then  they  would 

m2 


138 

love  their  neighbour  as  themselves,  and  work  no 
slandering  ill  to  them  ;  they  would  then  enter  in  at 
the  straight  gate  of  universal  charity,  and  in  the  ful- 
filment of  "  Therefore,  all  tilings  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so 
to  them,  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 
Matt.  vii.  13.  In  the  fulfilment,  we  repeat  it 
again,  of  this  universally  benevolent  precept,  there 
wiii  be  no  place  left  for  malice,  guile,  envy,  whis- 
pering, ingratitude,  supplanting,  talebearing,  pride, 
exclusive  privilege,  lording  over  God's  heritage, 
haughtiness,  implacability,  or  revenge. 

Any  man  or  woman  who,  having  a  murderous 
disposition  against  another,  is  continually  writing 
and  speaking  ill  of  those  whom  they  hate,  to  every 
person  that  they  can  bribe  to  join  with  them  in  their 
little,  proud,  envious,  vain,  talkative,  lying,  malice 
and  revenge  ;  especially  to  those  whose  jealousy  is 
as  cruel  as  the  grave  ;  we  say,  that  when  by  malice 
aforethought  this  has  been,  is,  and  probably  shall 
be,  until  the  person  or  persons  of  whom  the  slan- 
derers speak  and  write  are  either  killed,  or  otherwise 
suffer  as  much  as  the  loss,  or  more  than  the  loss  of 
an  house  or  plantation,  by  the  effects  of  such  bitter 
railings  ;  then,  the  slandering  murderer  having 
intended  to  take  the  life  of  the  person,  having  pro- 
duced killing  by  slandering  them,  ought  to  be 
hanged ;  or,  if  having,  by  a  continued  course  of 
defamatory  reviling,  produced  other  losses  to  the 
sufferers,  they  ought  to  be  punished  in  proportion 
to  the  sufferings  and  losses  produced.  And  as 
these  ends  of  distributive,  equal  justice  cannot  be 
obtained  so  well  by  leaving  it  to  a  jury  to  give 
something,  or  nothing,  or  more  slander,  to  the 
plaintiff,  than  he  or  they  had  before  they  sued  for 
their  characters,  statute  law  might  produce  more 


139 

reformation  in  society,  leaving  it  to  the  jury,  under 
the  direction  of  the  court,  to  bring  them  under  the 
purview  thereof  who  are  found  guilty ;  or,  if  the 
jury  bring  a  verdict  contrary  to  the  law,  or  contra- 
ry to  evidence  ;  then  the  court  is  to  order  a  new 
trial,  and  so  continue  until  the  statute  in  such  case 
made  and  provided,  have  the  effects,  and  answer 
the  ends  intended  by  the  legislature. 

This  end  may  be  obtained  without  "  abridging 
the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press."  Hear  the 
declaration  of  the  General  Court,  Richmond,  June, 
1811,  before  judges  JSl'elson,  White,  Holmes.  Bro- 
kenborough,  Johnston,  Carr,  and  Smith — "  The 
adjourned  case  of  the  commonwealth  against 
Morris  was  thus  decided."  It  is  the  unani- 
mous opinion  of  the  court,  that  by  the  common 
law,  truth  is  no  justification  of  a  libel,  and  cannot 
as  such  be  given  in  evidence  on  an  indictment  or 
information  for  the  offence.  In  this  case  the  se- 
cond article  of  the  bill  of  rights,  having  declared 
that  "  AH  power  is  vested  in,  and  consequently 
derived  from  the  people,  that  magistrates  are  the 
trustees  and  servants,  and  at  all  times  amenable  to 
them."  It  follows,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
that  the  people  have  a  right  to  be  informed  of  the 
conduct  and  character  of  their  public  agents. 

In  the  case  of  an  indictment,  or  information  for 
a  libel  against  public  officers  or  candidates  for  pub- 
lic office,  truth  is  a  justification,  and  may  be  given 
in  evidence  as  such  under  the  general  issue  ;  and 
this  forms  an  exception  to  the  general  rules  estab- 
lished by  the  courts  of  law  ;  but  even  in  such  a  case 
any  libellous  matter,  which  does  not  tend  to  sheW" 
that  the  person  libelled  is  unfit  for  the  office,  can- 
not be  justified,  because  it  is  true.     In  the  case  of 


140 

individuals,  who  are  neither  officers  nor  candidates 
for  office,  truth  is  no  justification  of  a  libel. 

In  no  case  is  it  necessary  or  proper  that  the  de- 
fendant, against  whom  there  is  an  indictment  or 
information  for  a  libel,  should  plead  the  truth. 

Who  does  not  here  discern  the  difference  be- 
tween "  -written  scandal"  called  a  libel,  against  a 
public  and  a  private  person  ? 

The  word  libel,  s.  from  [libellous,  Lat.]  is,  lst.« 
A  satire  ;  defamatory  writing  ;  a  lampoon  ;  decay 
of  piety,  2d.  [In  the  civil  law"]  A  declaration  or 
charge,  in  writing,  against  a  person  in  court. 

To  LIBEL,  v.  n.  [from  the  noun~\  To  spread 
defamation  generally,  written  or  printed. — Donne. 

To  LIBEL,  v.  a.   To  satirize  ;    to  lampoon. 

A  LIBELLER,  s.  [from  libel]  A  defamer  by 
writing  ;  a  lampooner. — Dryden. 

"  Whatever  (saith  the  common  law,  approved 
by  Judge  C.)  renders  a  man  ridiculous,  or  lowers 
him  in  the* esteem  and  opinion  of  the  world,  amounts 
to  a  libel ;  as  to  call  a  person  an  itchy  old  toad  was 
held  in  that  case  to  be  a  libel.  For  men  not  being 
able  to  bear  their  having  their  errors  exposed  to 
public  view,  were  found  by  experience  to  revenge 
themselves  on  those  who  made  sport  with  their  re- 
putations." 

Take  care  of  your  love  letters,  of  letters  libelling 
one  another ;  of  smile  and  stab  letters  ;  of  letters 
under  the  lying,  covetous,  hypocritical  pretences 
of  church  government,  of  putting  the  innocent 
upon  their  guard,  of  punishing  the  wicked,  while 
you  have  a  beam  of  whispering  in  your  own  eye, 
and  boasting  of  producing  good  to  society  thereby, 
when,  as  slanderers,  you  are  not  only  its  worst  ci- 
tizens, but  most  profligated  church  members,  by 
the  evil  habit  and  example  of  producing  a  world 


141 

of  iniquity.  Parting  man  and  wife,  breaking  up 
matches,  when  we  so  much  need  population,  ruin- 
ing strangers,  fatherless,  and  widows,  driving  man- 
kind more  into  infamy,  and  proportionally  to  re- 
venge, disappointment,  and  suicide,  into  poverty, 
and  breaches  of  the  peace — are  the  great  boasted 
good  resulting  from  such  double  distilled  felony 
and  murder. 

It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a  thing,  saith 
Solomon,  Prov.  xxv.  2.  Yet  your  rasp  tongued, 
winking,  cackling,  tossing  nosed  slanderers,  make 
their  boast  of  having  revealed  the  thing ;  hereby 
imitating  their  father,  the  devil,  who  is  emphati- 
cally called  the  accuser,  or  slanderer. 

You  say  that  you  only  put  the  innocent  upon 
their  guard,  when  you  whisper.  You  lie — you  put 
them  off  their  guard,  by  imposing  upon  them  by 
hypocritical  pretentions  of  friendship,  until  you 
make  them  open  the  gates  of  confidence  to  you  and 
the  devil,  your  father,  by  whom,  joined  to  your 
malevolence,  they  are  set  on  fire  of  hell  by  evil 
speaking  and  revenge.  Why  don't  you  put  them  on 
their  guard  against  backbiting,  against  the  company  ^ 
and  confidence  of  railers,  revilers,  and  those  who 
justify  their  slanders,  as  much  as  against  the  com- 
pany of  murderers,  adulterers,  drunkards,  horse- 
thieves,  house  breakers,  and  money  or  trash  steal- 
ers ?  Surely  the  slanderer  is  a  murderer,  not  only 
of  character,  but  often  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren; "  he  who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash,"  but 
he  or  she  who  pilfers  from  me  my  reputation,  or 
sinks  it  lower  by  whispering,  is  a  greater  enemy  to 
society  than  other  criminals,  inasmuch  as  "  a  world 
of  iniquity"  is  greater  than  a  few  criminal  acts. 
Search  ancient  history  in  proof  of  these  things,  and 
you  will  find  that  nineteen  wars  out  of  twenty  have 


142 

been  produced  by  slander,  prompted  by  envy,  de- 
bate, deceit,  backbiting,  coveteousness,  and  re.- 
venge.  Read  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  Trinita- 
rians and  Antitrinitarians,  with  all  the  slanders  be- 
tween Catholics  (so  called)  and  Protestants.  Turn 
over  the  biography  of  modern  Europe,  of  states, 
churches,  and  colleges,  look  at  the  slanders  of  the 
officers,  of  armies,  and  navies;  behold  with  shame 
in  the  very  bosom  of  our  own  inimitable  republic, 
the  political  emulations  which  often  burst  out  into 
open  violence.  Mark  the  bar — but  more  especially 
the  secret  contentions  and  public  controversies 
which  have  been  the  laughing  stock  and  6tumbling 
block  of  infidels,  among  the  different  sects  of  Chris- 
tians ;  add  to  the  catalogue  the  effects  of  slander 
recorded  in  the  Bible,  and  you  will  see  the  amount 
to  be  this  :  Other  criminals  have  slain  their  thou- 
sands, but  slanderers  their  ten  thousands. 

What  an  abominable  spectacle  do  tradesmen  and 
merchants  display  by  their  competitions,  emula- 
tions, supplantings,and  slanders  against  each  other? 
How  ridiculous  is  it  to  behold,  an  envious  ma- 
ligner,  with  his  mouth,  nose,  and  eyes  gaping, 
pinching,  and  winking ;  his  red  gums  and  white 
teeth  grinning,  his  tongue  lashing  out  like  a  bark- 
ing, snapping  quadruped,  with  outstretched  neck 
like  a  rattlesnake,  eating  up  the  misfortunes  of  dis- 
tressed debtors,  whose  notes  have  been  protested 
in  bank  ! 

The  deluge  of  malignity,  which  is  every  day 
sweeping  bond  and  free  before  it,  has  became  so 
formidable  as  to  retard  population ;  many  delicate, 
nice  sensibilities  are  afraid  to  make  known  their 
esteem  for  the  objects  of  their  affections  amongst 
the  opposite  sex,  for  fear  of  a  storm  sinking  their 
vessel  before  they  hoist  all  the  sails  to  leave  the 


143 

port  of  celibacy.  More  especially  old  bachelors 
and  old  maids  turn  back  the  white  of  the  eye,  like 
kicking  horses,  and  groan  with  the  spleen,  when 
they  behold  a  fine  fish  caught  by  a  shining  bait, 
particularly  when  they  have  the  mortification  to 
see  widows  and  widowers  going  through  their  se- 
cond, third,  fourth,  or  fifth  epistles.  What  an  un- 
merciful group  of  cacklers  and  gobblers  are  often 
collected  together,  over  a  smoking  sacrifice  of  high 
sounding,  sweet  cented  tobacco,  strong  drink, 
wine,  tea,  coffee,  &c.  all  bawling  together  against 
bound  boys  and  girls ;  against  my  Fan,  my  Jen, 
my  Pat,  my  Jack,  Joe,  Chloe,  Doll,  and  Nat,  until 
after  some  going  kaw,  like  crows,  others  haeck, 
like  snipes,  twitter  like  swallows,  uatil  all  give  a 
concluding  volley  of  indignant  laughter  together, 
making  the  slandering  liquor  fly  all  over  the  table 
and  floor  of  Lucifer's  liquid  pandemonium. 

It  is  a  universal  maxim  in  law,  that  one  who  can 
only  witness  by  hearsay,  is  not  a  lawful  accuser 
within  any  legal  statute.  It  is  also  another  maxim 
that  a  man  is  not  to  be  believed  until  confronted 
by  his  adversary,  and  the  witnesses  cross  examined. 
How  abominable,  then,  is  the  conduct  of  those 
who,  when  they  are  the  least  offended,  circulate 
what  they  slanderously  call  negroes'  news ;  while 
the  credulous  receiver,  as  the  wise  man's  simple 
one,  "  believeth  every  word." 

The  honorable  Judge  White,  of  Frederick,  Vir- 
ginia, informed  us,  that  for  thirty  years  at  the  bar, 
and  on  the  bench,  he  had  learned  to  call  hearsays 
lies.  Go  thou  and  do  likewise,  sir  Slaughter  Slan- 
derer. 

Suppose  your  reputation  was  tottering  upon  its 
base,  (as  it  assuredly  will,  unless  you  bridle  your 
tongue)  as  a  house  almost  without  its  foundation  ; 


144 

and  a  foul  tongiied,  hard  hearted  devil's  pedler 
picked  away  silently,  by  his  or  her  slandering  bill, 
the  last  scrap  of  its  support ;  would  you  not  say  and 
think  very  hard  things  of  such  a  one  ?  And  as  you 
would,  so  do  ye ;  as  ye  would  not,  abstain  there, 
at  the  peril  of  your  good  name,  fortune,  life,  and 
heaven,  all  of  which  may  be  lost  by  giving  your- 
selves up  to  the  fashionable  slanders  of  the  times. 
To  slander  a  sinking  reputation  is  the  same  as  to 
rob  a  poor  person  of  their  last  cow,  for  it  is  all  they 
have  left.  Did  you  ever  think  of  that  ?  To  tram- 
ple upon  lost  characters,  when  some  are  endeavor- 
ing to  bring  them  back  again  to  God,  to  society, 
and  to  the  church,  is  like  the  elder  son  in  the  Gos- 
pel slandering  his  younger  brother  to  his  father, 
who  rejoiced  (not  like  our  pinch  faced  slanderers,) 
that  this  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again,  he 
was  lost,  and  is  found.  Such  defamers,  we  re- 
peat, are  like  a  parcel  of  murderers  gathering  round 
a  consultation  of  laborious  physicians,  (which,  by 
the  bye,  are  the  most  still  tongued  men)  who  are 
trying  every  experiment  of  the  faculty  to  bring  a 
drowned  man  to  life,  and  are  making  every  effort 
to  cut  off  the  man's  head,  to  prevent  the  success  of 
the  doctors  ;  or,  what  is  as  bad,  doing  their  best  to 
down  with  him  or  her,  to  everlasting  infamy,  like 
men  running  a  boat  over  a  man  who  is  just  sinking 
under  the  water  the  third  time,  while  a  number  of 
active,  benevolent  sailors  are  drawing  him  up  by 
the  hair,  a  foot  from  below  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter. To  sink  the  poor,  or  the  stranger,  for  the 
purpose  of  ingratiating  ourselves  into  favor  with 
the  envious,  malicious,  the  proud,  and  the  revenge- 
ful, is  to  go  about  as  a  talebearer,  which  in  Lev. 
xix.  16,  is  called  a  pedler,  a  trader,  (in  the  Hebrew 
word,  saith  A,  Clarke ;)  and  what  a  dear  bought 


145 

gain  must  it  be  to  purchase  human  favour  at  the 
expense  of  a  guilty  conscience,  the  oppression  of 
the  needy,  and  the  curse  of  God,  in  time  and  in 
eternity  ? 

When  a  backbiter,  who  has  long  acted  under  a 
license  from  the  devil,  the  father  of  lies,  to  raise, 
receive,  or  publish  a  slander,  directed  by  Lucifer's 
book  of  defamatory  signals,  such  as  winks,  grim- 
maces,  shrugs,  irowns,  turning  up  the  white  of  the 
eyes,  with  a  prayer,  such  as  L-o-r-d  p-i-t-y  t-h-e-m, 
quivering  the  voice  like  the  devil's  lightning  rod, 
pretending  to  kiss,  while  Joab's  dagger  enters  the 
heart ;  we  say,  that  when  you  oppose  the  slanders 
of  such,  they  justify  themselves  by  an  extraordi- 
nary case  of  putting  the  innocent  upon  their  guard. 
We  certainly  owe  a  higher  duty  to  God,  society, 
and  the  innocent  individual  cautiously  to  put  them 
on  their  guard,  and  save  them  from  the  artful  and 
the  designing,  than  to  hide  such  faults ;  yet  even 
here  our  knowledge  of  the  designing  person  ought 
to  be  perfect  before  we  act ;  and  how  often  when 
you  inform  upon  them,  will  they  inform  the  person 
against  whom  we  put  them  on  their  guard  !  But 
what  have  these  extra  cases  to  do  with  suspicion  ? 
With  doubtful  hearsays  ?  With  a  match  which  we 
break,  through  envy  or  talkativeness?  With  slan- 
dering a  poor  negro,  or  bound  boy  or  girl  ?  With 
such  a  poor  girl  having  an  illegitimate  chiid  ? 
With  a  private  or  public  difference  between  man 
and  wife  ?  With  a  person  getting  drunk  at  night  ? 
Or  with  the  disputes  between  householders  and 
their  domestics?  &c.  Although  a  slanderer  teiis 
the  truth,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  such  a  one  drank 
to  excess,  or  had  a  quarrel ;  yet  it  is  a  lie  against 
that  revealed  truth  which  saith,  "  if  thy  brother 
trespass,  tell  him  of  his  fault  between  thee  and  him 

N 


146 

alone  ;"  it  is  a  lie  against  that  charity  which  cov- 
ereth  a  multitude  of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8  ;  against 
doing  unto  all  men  as  you  would  they  should  do 
unto  you,  Matt,  vii.  13  ;  against  that  love  (which) 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour,  and  which  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law.  Rom.  xiii.  10.  For  the  law 
teacheth,  Lev.  xix.  18,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself.  Gal.  v.  14.  Matt.  xxii.  39.  If  ye 
fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the  scripture,  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  ye  do  well. 
James  ii.  8  ;  if  not,  ye  do  ill. 

We  must  doubt  and  disregard  the  railing  insin- 
uations of  a  precipitate,  talkative,  unfeeling,  envi- 
ous, revengeful  generation  of  murdering  revilers, 
idle,  gadding,  unforgiving  sowers  of  discord,  if  we 
would  be  just  and  merciful :  For,  as  they  lie  in 
nvait  to  deceive,  and  carry  tales  to  shed  blood,  of 
malice  prepense,  for  gain,  as  they  go  up  and  down 
to  supplant,  they  are  the  devil's  advance  guard, 
pushing  forward  upon  all  flesh  as  universal  canni- 
bals, deputed  from  his  pandemonium  of  head  quar- 
ters in  hell,  from  whom  the  backbiter  receives  his 
or  her  commission  to  produce  "  a  world  of  inU 
quity." 

O  how  wicked,  how  pityless  is  the  slanderer's 
baleful  breath,  which  mildews,  blasts,  and  nips  ; 
-which  scorches  friend  and  foe,  even  its  own  mo- 
ther's son ;  which  raises  a  private  and  public 
storm,  to  toss,  shipwreck,  and  finally  destroy  the 
peace,  property,  life,  and  soul  of  the  poor  girl  or 
boy,  stranger,  fatherless,  widow,  or  slave  1  View 
them  lamenting,  prostrate  on  the  ground,  speaking 
out  of  the  dust,  helpless  and  forsaken,  with  their 
eyes  stedfastly  fixed  behind  upon  the  past  loss,  the 
present  shipwreck,  and  the  future  chaos !  Behold 
how  rivers  of  waters  gush  out  of,  and  run  down 


147 

their  eyes,  while  they  feed  upon  nothing  but  grief, 
and  indulge  naught  but  hopeless  misery.  Ten 
thousand  excuses  are  produced  by  the  malevolent, 
envious,  ungrateful,  revengeful  whisperer,  (who 
divides  chief  friends)  for  his  all  consuming  slan- 
ders, one  of  which  is  to  produce  public  good,  ano- 
ther to  reform  the  guilty.  As  to  the  public  good, 
its  chief  enemy  is  the  disturber  of  the  peace,  name- 
ly, the  devil's  letter  writers,  like  those  of  Napo- 
leon, love  the  Americans,  and  take  six  hundred 
ships  from  them  ;  and  how  comes  it  that  cacklers, 
winkers,  punners,  nodders,  breakers  of  the  harmo- 
ny of  society,  cup  and  wine  slanderers,  have  turned 
out  to  produce  so  much  good  in  church  and  state, 
when  they  break  up  nineteen  matches  out  of  twen- 
ty, part  man  and  wife,  and,  in  a  word,  are  sowing 
the  tares  of  discord  among  the  wheat  of  law,  mo- 
rality, and  religion,  out  of  slandering  Apol- 
lyon's  black,  hell  singed,  winding  sheet  of  calum- 
ny !  The  devil's  whispering  pedler  and  trader 
does  too  much  for  God  ;  he  loves  his  neighbor 
better  than  himself  by  going  to  the  devil  to  slan- 
der him,  that  he  may  save  him  ;  he  commits  the 
crime  of  supererogation,  and  goes  to  hell  for  public 
spirit. 

Suppose  a  universal,  destructive  combination 
were  to  be  formed  against  the  health,  prosperity, 
and  life  of  man,  resulting  in  the  direful  effusion  of 
fire  into  our  houses  to  consume  them ;  scalding 
water  effused  through  a  diabolical  squirt  upon  our 
flesh ;  mad  dogs  let  loose  throughout  all  public 
places,  with  intention  to  produce  a  general  hydro- 
phobia ;  contagious  substances  insidiously  intro- 
duced into  our  bed  chambers  to  poison  respiration  ; 
spiders  and  ratsbane,  including  all  noxious,  ve- 
nomous, and  poisonous  reptiles,  artfully  and  mali- 


148 

ciously  intermingled  with  our  provisions,  includ- 
ing an  attempt  to  dissolve  civil  society,  level  pro- 
perty, morality,  religion,  and  all  government ; 
would  it  not  wake  up  and  arouse  all  the  dormant 
and  active  energies  of  every  lover  of  social  order 
into  a  prompt  phalanx  of  firm,  zealous,  and  perse- 
vering opposition,  until  the  hydra  should  fall  a  sa- 
crifice to  the  public  safety  ?  And  shall  we  stand 
all  the  day  idle,  with  folded  and  rusty  arms,  while 
the  compound  mechanics  of  hell  and  earth  are 
making  the  streets  run  with  gore,  staining  every 
threshold  with  blood,  and  clothing  all  flesh  in  crape, 
by  slanderous  results,  into  an  universal  aceldema, 
and  make  no  attempt  to  restrain,  stop,  or  punish  its 
promoters?  Alas!  we  are  ruined  by  the  tongues 
and  pens  of  those  who,  through  moral  and  hypo- 
critical pretences  of  producing  civil  and  religious 
good,  are,  for  the  momentary  gain  of  mammon, 
insuring  to  themselves  a  gold  and  silver  damnation, 
and,  by  their  foul,  putrescent  breath,  are  peopling 
the  regions  of  hell  by  the  tortured  victims  of  their 
defamation ! 

A  ivorld  of  iniquity  is  the  tongue,  saith  James 
iii.  6  ;  a  fire,  a  consuming  flame,  an  insurrection, 
a  national,  a  continental  war,  a  world  of  noise,  of 
arms,  anxiety,  fatigue,  sickness,  battle,  and  blood, 
a  world  of  slain  as  "  Xerxes'  world  in  arms,"  as 
the  sea  roaring,  so  are  the  ragings  of  the  multi- 
tudes, the  heart  of  each  individual  being  set  against 
all  flesh,  bursts  out  into  malicious  slanders,  and 
when  joined  together  by  an  evil  report  of  the 
"  tongue,  becomes  a  fire,  and  the  xvorld  of  iniquity 
is  like  a  xvood;"  and  as  fire  increases  in  a  large  dry 
forest,  burning  up  saplings  and  trees,  roots, 
branches,  and  earth,  so  also  does  the  fire  of  slander 
burn  up  appetite,  peace,  health,  and  life,  conjugal 


149 

happiness  between  man  and  wife,  devours  popula- 
tion by  preventing  marriages,  and  perpetuates  con- 
tinual quarrels  and  bloodshed  throughout  the 
churches  all  over  the  globe,  setteth  on  fire  the 
course  of  nature,  "or  the  wheel  of  life."  ( 

"  St.  James  does  not  intend  to  express  the  whole 
circle  of  human  affairs,  so  much  affected  by  the 
tongue  of  man,  but  rather  the  penal  wheel  of  the 
Greeks,  and  not  unknown  to  the  Jews,  on  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  extend  criminals,  to  in- 
duce  them   to   confess,   or  to   punish   them   for 
crimes  ;   under  which  wheels,  fire  was  often  pla- 
ced, to  add  to  their  torments.     They  cast  him  on 
the  wheel  over  which  they  extended  him  ;  they  put 
coals  under  it,  and  strongly  agitated  the  wheel." 
Just  so  do  malignant  slanderers  distend  us  :  they 
circulate  a  mischievous  tale  in  solemn  conclave  or 
malicious  madness,  among  the  murderous  crowd 
in  civil  and  religious  society  ;    then   stretch  the 
man  or  woman's  character,  soul,  body,  and  estate 
thereupon,  to  induce  them,  by  pumping,  by  cun- 
ning, villainous  questions,  to  confess  false  judg- 
ment, still  continuing  to  torture  them  under  the 
murdering  excuses  of  known,  suspected,  or  un- 
known criminality  ;  they  put  the  hot  burning  coals 
of  hell  fire  slanders  under,  i^pon,  and  all  around 
them,  they  agitate  the  wheel  of  public  and  private 
opinion  in  and  out  of  the  churches,  writing  libel- 
lous, cunning,  murderous  letters  against  them,  pri- 
vately shooting  at  them,  publicly  laughing,  mock- 
ing, and  persecuting  them,  in  all  pumping,  pun- 
ning, groaning,  and  grinning  circles,  by  nods,  grins, 
winks,  foreboding  shrugs,  baboon  grimmaces,  and 
white  eyed  laws,  of  solemn,  hypocritical  astonish- 
ment ;  by  malicious,  partial  church  censures,  for 
the  glory  of  God  they  say,  grievous,  vexatious,  and 

*  2 


150 

groundless  state  privations,  accusations,  prosecu- 
tions, condemnations,  and  malicious  punishments  ; 
thus  bringing  the  whole  circle  of  the  wheels  of  the 
devil's  steam  engine,  slander,  against  one,  against 
each,  against  all,  every  man's  tongue  being  a  sword, 
a  fire,  a  world  o,f  iniquity,  cuts,  wounds,  slays, 
burns,  scorches,  pains,  and  consumes  name,  fame, 
property,  life,  and  salvation  !  Yet  still  we  leave  it 
to  a  jury  to  punish  them,  without  a  fixed,  defined, 
penal  statute  !  "  They  brought  him  to  the  wheel, 
on  which  having  distended  his  limbs  and  broken 
his  joints,  they  scorched  him  withj^r^,  placed  un- 
derneath, and  with  sharp  spits,  (saith  history)  heat- 
ed in  the  fire,  they  pierced  his  sides  and  burned  his 
bowels." 

Thus,  and  thus  publicly  and  privately  do  slan- 
derers immolate  or  murder  the  unsuspecting  and 
unprepared  victims  of  their  envy  and  malice  ;  they 
stretch  their  reputations  to  dislocation,  as  those 
distended  the  limbs  of  the  tortured  sufferer  ;  they 
feast  their  fiery  eyes  and  malefic  ears  upon  their 
cries  and  obloquys  ;  they  eat  up  their  sins  ;  they 
are  food  for  their  insatiate  ambition  and  revenge  : 
as  those  rejoiced  at  the  snaps  of  the  broken  limbs 
and  joints  of  the  writhing,  raving,  hopeless  victim, 
so  these  cry  out '  ha,  ha,  so  would  wre  have  it,'  when 
the  object  of  their  malevolence  is  privately  and 
publicly  disgraced  and  ruined  !  As  those  scorched 
the  sufferer  with  the  fire  placed  underneath  the 
wheel,  so  also  do  slanderers  with  the  pokers,  sho- 
vels and  tongs,  of  letters,  winks,  balls,  words,  set 
on  fire  of  hell  by  recapitulations  of  the  past,  and 
new  creations  and  additions  of  accumulated  ca- 
lumny, stir  up  the  fire  of  hell  to  scorch  and  burn 
up  injured  innocence  !  As  with  sharp  spits,  heated 
in  the  fire,  they  pierced  the  sides  and  burned  the 


151 

bowels,  so  also  do  hot  burning,  hell  fire  slanderers 
heat  their  spit  fire  tongues  in  the  devil's  furnaces 
and  forges  of  defamation,  by  the  coals  of  hatred, 
and  the  breath  or  bellows  of  slander,  and  pierce  the 
sides,  breast,  and  souls  of  the  slandered  by  their 
seven  times  heated  and  hissing  tongues  and  pens  ! 
"  The  fire  and  the  wheel  (saith  A.  Clarke)  are 
mentioned  by  Achilles  Tatius.  Having  stripped 
me  of  my  garments,  I  was  carried  aloft — some 
bringing  scourges,  others  the  Jive  and  the  wheel. 
Now,  as  the  Greek  word  often  signifies  life,  then 
the  wheel  of  life  is  to  increase  a  man's  torments  ; 
and  to  be  set  on  fire  of  hell,  implies  having  these 
miseries  rendered  more  active  by  diabolical  agency, 
or,  in  other  words,  bad  men  instigated  by  the  de- 
vil, through  lies  and  calumnies,  make  life  burden- 
some to  the  objects  of  their  malicious  tongues." 
Yes,  as  those  tyrants  stripped,  and  fired  the  wheel, 
raising  the  poor  man  aloft,  so  also  do  whisperers, 
backbiters,  and  haters  of  God  strip  you  of  reputa- 
tion, health,  appetite,  friends,  senses,  life,  and  sal- 
vation, and  expose  us  naked,  upon  high  places  of 
obloquy,  to  the  increase  of  torments  insupporta- 
ble, inexpressible,  and  eternal !  They  enviously 
and  maliciously  strip  us  of  civil  and  religious  soci- 
ety, of  honor,  confidence,  and  genius,  of  conjugal 
happiness,  of  the  favor  of  parents,  brethren,  chil- 
dren, servants,  masters,  and  benefactors  ;  they  be- 
reave us  of  a  home,  exposing  our  naked  or  hidden 
foibles  to  a  host  of  maligners,  and  prevent  the  pop- 
ulation of  our  country  by  breaking  up  millions  of 
marriages ;  the  stranger  is  tortured  upon  this  uni- 
versal wheel,  so  is  the  poor  oppressed  slave,  until 
the  hideous,  bloody  voice  of  Ramah  becomes  in- 
supportable ;  the  whole  course  of  the  blood  and 
spirits,  the  concrete  of  violent  passions,  and  the 


152 

whole  malevolence  of  the  universe,  since  Cain  en- 
vied Abel,  is,  and  has  been,  set  on  fire  of  hell — 
and  shall  \vc  not  rise  up  in  universal  opposition 
thereunto,  by  statutory  enactments,  defined,  limit- 
ed, stern,  firm,  and  persevering  restrictions  in  the 
churches,  before  all  character,  order,  happiness, 
union,  interest,  and  salvation  is  broken  and  con- 
sumed ? 

HE  belch'd  his  bilious  slanders  up, 
And  bawl'd  aloud  of  faith  and  hope  ; 
And  yet  the  slowjaw'd,  huffish  mope, 
Let  fly  upon  St,  Peter's  Pope. 
Away  he  went,  both  head  and  tail, 
A  butting  ram,  with  peacock's  tail, 
With  strut  and  butt,  to  rail  and  sail 
All  through  the  stormy,  surging  gale. 

They  beat  the  revellie,  tattoo, 
And  told  on  Jack,  and  Beet,  and  Lew  ; 
Then  gave  a  wild  grimmalkin  mew, 
When  off  the  wool  and  scarf  skin  flew  ; 
They  point  the  loving,  narrow  way, 
Yet  sink  the  feeble  in  a  day  ; 
They  bay,  and  pray,  and  fray,  and  slay, 
And  blight  your  fame  to  dire  dismay. 

A  group  of  hearts,  as  hard  as  steel, 
Play'd  up  a  peddling,  gadding  reel ; 
And  dane'd  a  wheel  within  a  wheel, 
Well  pleasing  to  old  Sam  Ordeal ; 
They  hump  the  shoulders,  back,  and  face, 
While  each  pursues  the  highest  place ; . 
Like  Samson's  foxes  in  the  chace, 
They  scorch  their  brethren  with  disgrace. 

Like  eagles  on  their  prey  they  flew, 
When  patronage  their  bills  renew ; 


153 

As  large  blue  flies  the  mutton  blew, 
The  many  sunk  beneath  the  few. 
The  wisdom  coming  from  above, 
They  neither  fear,  nor  hope,  nor  love  ; 
Driving,  as  formerly,  they  drove, 
While  for  the  upper  place  they  strove. 

They  whisper,  write,  and  pump,  and  plod, 
And  peep,  and  wink,  and  frown,  and  nod, 
And  mutilate  the  word  of  God, 
While  smooth  or  soft,  they  ride  rough  shod : 
Pursuing  hard  for  holy  gold, 
They  bow  to  mammon  in  the  fold  ; 
O  let  it  not  in  Gath  be  told, 
They  lord  and  rail,  revile  an4  scold. 

A  wheel  within  the  wheeling  games, 
Envelopes- all  the  fold  in  flames  ; 
They're  set  on  fire  of  hell,  saith  James, 
They  publish  crimes,  and  dates,  and  names  ; 
Rivers  of  water  drown  our  eyes,* 
While  earthquakes  burst  out  inward  sighs, 
For  despots  treasure  in  the  skies, 
Their  neighbor's  sobs,  and  groans,  and  cries. 

To  slander  through  revenge,  is  equally  as  damn- 
ing as  though  we  had  done  it  of  mere  malignity. 
44  Be  patient  towards  all  men  ;  see  that  none  render 
evil  unto  any  man,"  1  Thess.  v.  14,  15,  is  tire 
apostolic  precept.  Hear  also  the  Jewish  lawgiver — 
**  Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any  grudge." 
Lev.  xix.  18.  Mark  also  the  dissuasion  of  Solo- 
mon— "  Say  not  thou  I  will  recompense  evil." 
Prov.  xx.  22.     "  Recompense  to  no  man  evil  for 

i:  Psalm  cxix.  1SG. 


154 

evil."  Rom.  xii.  17.  Stop  the  mouth  and  still  the 
tongue  upon  the  prospect  of  life  and  good  days  ; 
"  Not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing ; 
but,  contrary  wise,  blessing:  for  he  that  will  love  life 
and  see  good  days,  let  him  refrain  his  tongue  from 
evil."  1  Peter  iii.  9,  10.  Hear  the  words  of  the 
Lord  Jehovah,  who  is  said  by  Paul,  Rom.  ix.  5, 
to  be  a  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever" — "  Ye  have 
heard,  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy ; 
but  I  say  unto  you,  love  your  enemies* ."  Matt.  v. 
43,  44.  As  to  the  double  distilled  villainy  of  un- 
grateful slander,  hear  the  voice  of  the  wise  man — 
"  Whoso  rewardeth  evil  for  good,  evil  shall  not 
depart  from  his  house."  Prov.  xvii.  13.  Finally, 
be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having  compassion  one  of 
another  ;  love  a.ci 'brethren,  be  pitiful,  be  courteous. 

I  Peter  iii.  8.  When,  in  the  green  years  of  youth, 
how  often  is  the  bud,  the  flower,  and  the  fruit  cut 
off  by  the  two  edged  sithe  of  church  and  state 
slander !  And  this  too,  without  a  fair  trial,  and  very 
frequently  against  evidence,  justice,  and  mercy, 
and  against  the  conscience  of  the  defamer.     As 

II  the  wisdom  which  is  from  above  is  without  par- 
tiality,"  James  iii.  17,  therefore,  it  requires  of  us, 
before  we  pronounce  guilty,  that  there  be  a  legal 
and  impartial  examination,  which  cannot  be  had 
without  two  or  three  sworn  witnesses  before  the 
judiciary,  confronted  by  the  accused  party,  all  sides 
being  cross  examined  without  exparfe  testimony. 
Doth  our  law  judge  any  man,  (saith  Nicodemus) 
before  it  hear  him  and  know  what  he  doeth  ?  John 
vii.  51.  This  word  hear,  and  that  word  know, 
have  no  relation  to  whispering  and  backbiting, 
which  is  neither  hearing  nor  knowing  morally  or 
legally.  One  witness  shall  not  rise  up  against  a 
man  for  any  iniquity,  or  for  any  sin  ;  at  the  mouth 


155 

of  three  witnesses,  shall  the  matter  be  established-. 
JDeut.  xix.  15.  Not,  surely,  hearsay,  cup,  wine, 
or  grog  witnessing  with  a  cackle. 

The  testimony  of  two  men  is  true.  John  viii.  17. 
If,  then,  it  takes  the  testimony  of  two  men  to  make 
up  the  legal  truth,  what  must  we  say  of  those  whp 
believe  the  cackling  tale  of  one  flirt  of  a  girly  old 
maid,  sordid  old  man,  hating  old  bachelor,  or,  as  St. 
Paul  observes,  an  old wife \y fable?  In  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be  esta- 
blished. Matt,  xviii.  16.  A  witness,  according  to 
that  Samson  in  the  law,  Giles  Jacob,  "  is  one 
that  gives  evidence  in  a  cause  ;  an  indifferent  per- 
son to  each  party,  sworn  to  speak  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth  ;  and  if  he 
will  be  a  gainer  or  loser  by  the  suit,  he  shall  not  be 
sworn  as  a  witness."  Surely  the  above  definition 
of  a  witness  differs  as  far  from  slandering  hearsays 
as  hell  from  heaven.  Whisperers  mix  among 
some  truths  a  gross  of  lies  and  absurd  stories  for 
gain,  not  like  "  indifferent  persons,"  as  witnesses 
should  be,  but  expecting  either  revenge,  or  to  lose 
if  they  are  silent  in  their  backbiting ;  or,  what  is 
most  common,  to  get  well  paid  by  tea,  wine,  mo- 
ney,  bacon,  &c.  to  oil  the  wheels  of  the  devil's 
slandering  chariot,  in  which  they  are  driving  like 
Jehu,  to  hell  fire  !  In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three 
witnesses  every  word  may  be  established.  2  Cor. 
xiii.  1.  Not,  certainly,  pulpit  slanderers  of  the  op- 
posite sect,  not  of  an  Edomite  against  an  Israelite, 
nor  an  ambitious,  envious  Hainan  against  an  inde- 
pendent Mordecai.  He  that  despised  Moses'  law, 
died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses. 
Heb.  x.  28.  He  certainly  does  not  mean  the  devil's 
pedlers,  of  whom  Moses  speaks,  Lev.  xix.  16; 
nor  that  of  those  who,  when  you  doubt  their  defa- 


156 

mations,  immediately  say,  a  lady  told  me,  I  had  it 
from  a  gentleman,  just  as  if  by  virtue  of  being  of  a 
jealous,  suspicious  mind  and  tongue,  gave  them  a 
right  to  be  called  a  lady  or  a  gentleman.  What  ?  a 
slanderer  a  lady?  a  backbiter  a  gentleman  ?  No,  no  ; 
they  are  rogues,  maligners,  murderers.  As,  then, 
Moses,  Jesus,  Paul,  Coke,  Becaria,  Montesquieu, 
and  all  the  books,  require  two  or  three  witnesses, 
what  shall  we  think  of  the  almost  infinite  diversifi- 
cations of  malicious  and  inconsiderate  slander,  with 
the  breasts  of  its  partial  votaries  heaving  up  fiery 
lava,  eyes  up,  nose  sharpened,  shoulders  shrug- 
ging, praying  Lord  pity  them,  still  pouring  gall 
and  wormwood ;  but  the  tail  of  Satan's  slandering 
daemon  is  most  ruinous  when  it  receives  the  pa- 
tronage of  priests  and  Levites. 

A  slanderer  may  be,  yea,  they  often  have  been, 
the  cause  of  murder ;  some  by  deliberate,  volun- 
tary malice  prepense,  others  by  casual  killing 
without  any  desire  to  kill. 

In  this,  (killing)  saith  Jacobs'  Law  Dictionary, 
the  ofFender  ought  to  be  of  the  age  of  discretion, 
and  compos  mentis.  Almost  uncounted  instances 
of  killing  have  been  produced  and  recorded  in  an- 
cient and  modern  history,  scripture,  and  conversa- 
tion by  slander,  inconsiderately  and  maliciously. 

"  By  murder,  at  this  day,  we  understand  the 
wilful  and  felonious  killing  of  any  one  whatsoever, 
upon  malice  aforethought  ;  so  as  the  party  wound- 
ed or  hurt  die  xvithin  a  year  and  a  day  after  the 
fact.  3  inst.  53.  H.  P.  C.  55.  If  one  lays  poison 
to  kill  a  person,  and  another  takes  it  and  dies  ;  if  a, 
person  stir  up  a  dog  accustomed  to  bite,  knowing  it 
to  be  such,  and  it  kills  a  person,  these  are  murder. 
Ii  is  malice  makes  the  crime  of  murder,  which  is 
either  express  or  implied;  it  is  express  when  it 


157 

may  be  evidently  proved  there  was  formerly  some 
ill  will,  and  the  killing  is  with  a  sedate  mind,  and 
formed  design  of  doing  it;  and  implied,  where 
one  kills  another  suddenly,  having  nothing  to  de- 
fend himself — as  going  over  a  stile,  or  the  like."— 
3  Inst.  51.  H.  P.  C.  47.  Giles  Jacobs'  Law  Dic- 
tionary. 

Here  let  us  apply  these  principles  to  murdering 
slanderers,  and  they  are  found  equally  guilty.  1st, 
It  is  malice  makes  the  crime  of  murder — Thus, 
then,  it  is  no  matter  whether  the  murderer  done  it 
by  poison,  steel,  lead,  or  whispering,  railing,  reviling, 
detraction,  or  in  any  wise  giving  a  mortal  wound, 
U  so  as  the  party  wounded  or  hurt,  die  within  a 
year  and  a  day  after  the  fact,"  it  is  murder,  saith 
Jacobs.  Or  if,  2dly,  one  lays  poison  to  bill  a  person, 
(and  slander  is  poison)  and  another  takes  it  and 
dies,  it  is  murder — Apply  this  to  the  raising  an  evil 
report  of  a  man,  for  which  another  suffers  death, 
and  you  are  an  assassin,  if  guilty.  Or,  3dly,  if  a 
person  stir  up  a  dog,  (and  what  dog  is  ^o  bad  l.s  a 
slanderer?)  accustomed  to  bite,  knowing  it  to  be 
such,  and  it  kill  a  person,  these  are  murder — As, 
therefore,  it  is  malice  makes  the  crime  of  'murder , 
and  slanderers,  of  consequence,  by  malice  afore- 
thought, being  guilty  thereof,  the  legislature  would 
do  well  to  define  it  by  statute,  leaving  it  to  the  jury 
to  find  the  culprit  guilty  under  such  statutes,  and 
the  courts  to  explain  the  law,  without  infringing 
the  constitution. 

Slander,  \_JWlimedung,  Teutonic]  is  to  scandal- 
ize ;  a  reproach,  scandal,  backbiting,  speaking  evil 
of,  railing  at,  detracting  from,  or  traducing  in  any 
way. 

Slander  —  1.  A  false  accusation;  2.  a  forged 
crime  ;  3.  a  malicious  slander  or  detraction  ;  a  ca* 

O 


158 

vil,  a  quirk,  a  calumniator,  a  litigious  plaintiff,  a 
malicious  interpreter. — You  rig's  Latin  Dictionary. 

Medisance,  s.  [French]  slander,  or  slandering, 
obloquy,  detraction,  evil  speaking,  railing,  reviling, 
vilifying,  backbiting,  traducing. — Boyer's  French 
Dictionary. 

So  that,  according  to  the  meaning  of  the  Teuto- 
nic, the  French,  and  the  English,  the  word  slander 
means  any  kind  of  evil  speaking  of,  or  against  ano- 
ther, as  the  ancient  German  has  it,  signifying  to 
cause  shame,  or  to  slander.  Which  doctrine  is 
further  proved  by  lord  Bacon,  who  saith — "  It  is 
no  excuse  at  the  bar  of  conscience,  that  the  slan- 
derous words  spoken  are  true  ;  for  malicious  slan- 
der is  the  relating  of  either  truth  or  falsehood,  for 
the  purpose  of  creating  misery."  Bacon,  vol.  vi.  p. 
201.  He  hereby  admits  that  "  slanderous  ivords" 
may  be  true. 

Slander  (saith  Espinasse)  is  the  defaming  a  man 
in  his  reputation,  by  speaking  or  writing  words 
from  whence  any  injury  in  character  or  property 
arises,  or  may  arise,  to  him  of  whom  the  words  are 
used. — Digest,  p.  496,  ch.  x. 

How  plain,  then,  must  it  appear  to  any  man  of 
reading,  that  to  slander  is  to  relate  truths,  as  well 
as  falsehoods,  to  injure  the  reputation  !  The  word 
backbite,  according  to  A.  Clarke,  comes  from  two 
Greek  words,  against  audi  speak,  to  speak  against; 
so  that  to  speak  against  a  person  is  backbiting,  and 
backbiting  is  called  hating  of  God.  Rom.  i.  60,  and 
excludes  us  from  God's  tabernacle  and  holy  hill. 
Psalm  xv.  1,3.  The  slanderer,  therefore,  belongs 
to  the  church  or  congregation  of  the  malignants,  as 
appears  from  Psalm  xxvi.  5.  :'  I  have  natto  the 
congregation  of  evil  doers  ;"  thai  is  to  say,  of  the 
malignants,  of  slander 'ersy  or  backbiters. 


lo9 

Slander,  in  Greek,  is  the  same  as  devil,  saith 
Buck.  Such  men  and  women  make  up  in  David, 
then,  the  church  of  the  malignants. 

Slanderers  are  the  worst  of  all  murderers,  inas- 
much as  they  act  under  so  many  more  hypocriti- 
cal pretexts  than  other  assassins,  and  have  more 
accomplices  and  accessories.  "  The  glory  of  God, 
the  public  good,  to  save  the  innocent,  to  do  jus- 
tice, to  reform  and  punish  the  wicked,  and  for  self 
defence,"  are  their  lying,  hypocritical  excuses  for 
digging  up  evil  with  slandering  pickaxes,  scatter- 
ing firebrands  with  their  burning,  fiery  lips,  and 
black  ratsbane  out  of  their  sepulchral,  mortifying 
pens.  The  words  of  the  wicked  are  to  lie  in  wait 
for  blood.  Prov.  xii.  6.  With  such  testimonies 
before  us,  let  the  public  justice  of  the  states, 
"  awake  in  thunder,  and  with  one  avenging  blow, 
crush  the  dire  authors  of  its  country's  woe."  And 
they  lay  wait  for  their  own  blood  ;  they  lurk  privily 
for  their  own  lives.  Prov.  i.  18 ;  the  britches  of 
their  slandesing  guns  often  burst,  fly  out,  and  kill 
the  whisperer,  as  was  the  case  of  Haman.  As  thou 
didst  rejoice  at  the  inheritance  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  because  it  was  desolate,  so  will  I  do  unto 
thee  :  Thou  shalt  be  desolate,  O  mount  Sier,  and 
all  Idumea,  even  all  of  it.  Ezek.  xxxv.  15  ;  which 
is  the  general,  the  universal,  the  just,  the  providen- 
tial principle  of  Obadiah — As  thou  hast  done,  it 
shall  be  done  unto  thee  :  thy  reward  shall  return 
upon  thine  own  head,  verse  15.  For  with  the 
same  measure  that  ye  mete  withal,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again,  Luke  vL  31,  slander  for 
slander.  A  wicked  (slandering)  messenger  falleth 
into  mischief,  Prov.  xiii.  17;  he  falleth  into  in- 
gratitude, lies,  bribery,  into  wounds,  bruises,  cor- 
ruption, retaliation,  death,  and  damnation ;  this  is 


160 

the  portion  of  the  devil's  pcdler  and  postrider,  he 
or  she  shall  be  well  paid,  eternally  paid,  for  break- 
ing up  confidence,  dissolving  marriages,  for  white 
eyed,  long  prayers,  such  as  L-o-r-d,  oh  h-o-w 
s-o-r-r-y  I  am  that  they  will  do  so,  and  at  the  same 
instant  slandering  like  thunder  and  lightning, 
grunting  and  groaning,  lamenting  I'm  grieved  they 
are  so  bad  hurt,  yet  smiling,  stabbing,  blowing, 
grinning,  biting,  barking,  and  supplanting,  whim- 
pering, whiffling,  peeping,  punning,  rocking,  law- 
ing,  jawing,  and  clawing  in  double  distilled,  sati- 
rical, backbiting  delight,  with  the  nose  often  sticking 
out  like  the  bowsprit  of  a  leaky  old  schooner,  their 
teeth  open  and  sharp  as  a  rat  trap,  their  lips  ready 
sharpened  and  screwed  up  as  a  vice,  their  faces  like 
kettle  drums,  the  deviVs  kettle  drums,  with  voices 
as  the  whizzing  grape  or  langrage,  hissing  rocket, 
eyes  snapping,  eyebrows  lowering,  while  a  volca- 
nic eruption  of  desolating  calumny  gushes  out  of 
their  mouths,  scattering  firebrands,  arrows,  and 
death. 

It  is  a  manifest  sign  of  badness  and  injustice  to 
be  ready  to  believe  evil  of  our  neighbour.  The 
simple,  fsaith  Solomon)  belie vcth  every  word. 
Prov.  xiv.  15.  The  simple  inherit  folly.  Prov. 
xiv.  18.  They  are  fools  for  believing  evil — yea, 
they  are  always  ready  to  believe  the  smallest  sign 
orJJag  hung  out  from  the  devil's  signal  book,  such 
as  a  long  wink,  with  the  one  eye  closed  up  like  a 
screw,  under  which  ten  thousand  fiends  hold  a  pan- 
demonium for  ten  or  twelve  minutes,  while  the 
simple  are  taking  aim  with  their  slandering  guns 
to  "  shoot  in  secret  (as  saith  David)  at  the  per- 
fect." A  naughty  person,  a  wicked  man,  walketh 
with  a  froward  mouth  ;  he  winketh  with  his  eyes, 
he  speaketh  with  his  feet,  he  teacheth  with  his  fin- 


161 

gers ;  he  deviseth  mischief  continually  ;  he  soweth 
discord.  Prov.  vi.  12,  13,  14.  Winking  back- 
biters are  sowing  discord  throughout  the  church, 
state,  and  bar,  over  cups,  glasses,  and  plates — He 
that  winketh  with  his  eyes  causeth  sorrow.  Prov. 
x.  10  ;  let  winkers  mark  this.  What  an  abomina- 
ble reaping  do  we  see,  have  we  heard  of,  and  shall 
we  see  from  history,  experience,  and  the  final 
judgment  from  such  sowing  !  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark, that  there  are  some  winking  families,  they 
are  the  old  Apollyon's  sharp  shooters  with  a  proud 
look  and  lying  tongue,  that  shed  by  whispers  in- 
nocent blood,  an  heart  that  deviseth  wicked  ima- 
ginations, feet,  that  be  swift  in  running  to  mis- 
chief between  friends,  sowing  discord  among  bre- 
thren in  the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord.  Prov.  vi.  16  to 
19.  Why  doth  thine  heart  carry  thee  away  ?  And 
what  doth  thine  eyes  wink  at?  Job  xv.  12.  Nei- 
ther let  them  wink  with  the  eye  that  hate  me. 
Psalm  xxxv.  19.  You  see  it  is  a  proof  of  hatred 
thus  to  wink,  plodding  mischief.  Yea,  saith  Da- 
vid, they  opened  their  mouth  wide  against  me,  and 
said,  Aha,  aha,  our  eye  hath  seen  it.  verse  21.  Let 
them  be  desolate  for  a  reward  of  their  shame  that 
say  unto  me  aha,  aha.  Psalm  xl.  15;  so  that  de- 
solation is  to  be  the  reward  of  simmers,  or,  which 
is  the  same,  slanderers.  To  excite  jealousy  against 
a  man  or  woman  is  to  design  their  death,  is  mur- 
der of  malice  prepe?ise :  For,  saith  Soior.ion,  jealou- 
sy is  the  rage  of  a  man  :  therefore,  he  will  not  spare 
in  the  day  of  vengeance.  Prov.  vi.  35.  He  will 
not  accept,  raith  the  marginal  Hebrew,  the  face  of 
ami  ransom.  It  is  sport  to  a  fool  to  do  mischief. 
Prov.  x.  23.  How  dare,  then,  how  can  any  one 
justify  their  slanders  because  they  arc  true,  when 
the  narrating  of  an  adulterous  truth  intends  and 

o2 


162 

produces  murder,  of  malice  aforethought  ?  Yes, 
the  telling  of  the  truth  is  often  murder,  treason, 
felony  ;  it  makes  man  and  wife  kill  others,  and  kill 
each  other ;  makes  them  kill  the  seducer  and  the 
seduced  ;  it  was  treason  in  Arnold  to  tell  the  truth, 
and  felony  when  we  lose  as  much  by  a  slandering 
tale  as  a  horse  is  worth  ;  and,  therefore,  ought  to 
be  punished  under  the  same  rules  and  statutes  as 
other  murderers  and  felons  are  by  the  laws  of  ho- 
micide, arson,  burglary,  and  felony,  which  cannot 
be  accomplished  by  a  jury  without  special,  penal 
statute.  To  consent  unto  slander  is  stealing — 
When  thou  sawest  a  thief  (of  reputation)  then  thou 
consentedst  with  him.  Psalm  1.  18.  Consented 
to  rob  husbands  and  wives,  friends  and  sweethearts 
of  each  other ! 

He  that  seeketh  mischief,  it  shall  come  unto  him. 
Prov.  xi.  27.  Psalm  vii.  15,  16,  and  lvii.  6.  The 
froward  tongue  shall  be  cut  out.  Prov.  x.  31.  The 
Gentoos  cut  out  the  slanderer's  tongue.  Would 
it  not  be  just  for  the  law  to  adjudge  the  devil's 
letter  writers  to  have  their  hands  cut  off?  More 
especially  when,  as  Solomon  saith,  An  hypocrite, 
with  his  mouth,  destroyeth  his  neighbour.  Prov. 
xi.  9,  and  verse  11,  The  city  is  overthrown  by  the 
mouth  of  the  wicked.  Why,  then,  do  not  all  men 
rise  up  against  and  forsake  slander,  instead  of  do- 
ing as  Paul  saith  of  gadding  widows,  And  withal 
they  learn  to  be  idle,  wandering  about  from  house 
to  house  ;  and  not  idle  only,  but  tattlers  also,  and 
busy  bodies,  speaking  things  which  they  ought 
not.  1  Tim.  v.  13.  There  are  some  which  walk 
among  you  disorderly,  working  not  at  all,  but  are 
busy  bodies.  2  lliess.  iii.  11  ;  a  busy  body  in 
other  men's  matters.  1  Peter  iv.  15.  What  abom- 
inable villainies  are  effected  even  in  the  very  bosom 


163 

of  the  sanctuary,  by  preachers  lending  ears,  feet, 
tongues,  and  hands  to  those  gadders,  adders,  idlers, 
wanderers,  wadlers,  tattlers,  and  busy  bodies ! 
How  much  better  would  it  be  to  do  as  Paul  hath 
done,  namely,  to  warn  our  young  Timothy  'sagainst 
such  cacklers  and  mischief  makers  ?  A  talebearer 
is  without  or  hath  lost  the  faith.  A  talebearer  re- 
vealeth  secrets ;  but  lie  that  is  of  a  faithful  spirit 
concealeth  the  matter.  Prov.  xi.  13.  Here  is  one 
scriptural  mark  of  a  faithful  spirit — it  concealeth 
the  matter.  How  did  it  come  about  to  be  right, 
then,  for  one  to  tell  with  a  pinched  up  face,  a 
wrinkled  nose,  and  lowering  forehead,  that  such  a 
one  got  drunk,  another  to  bawl  out  they  had  a  fight, 
or  played  some  terrible  trick,  whilst  a  third  tale 
produces  killing  between  chief  friends,  mak- 
ing, at  the  same  instant,  a  smile,  a  stab,  a  hy- 
pocritical prayer,  with  eyes  up  to  heaven  and  heart 
down  to  hell,  within  the  zenith  of  dissimulation  and 
the  nadir  of  murder,  crying  out  "  Lord  !  Lord! 
Lord  pity  them,  him,  or  her/'  like  a  man  choking 
another  with  a  running  noose,  secreted  by  trapish- 
ness,  and  praying  for  them,  pitying  them,  blaming 
and  choking  them  !  O  how  well  they  love  them 
Avhile  they  let  loose  the  devil's  threshing  mill  upon 
them.  'Tis  a  manifestation  of  a  want  of  under- 
standing to  speak  ill  of  our  neighbour,  and  an  evi- 
dence of  the  highest  wTisdom,  upon  the  other  hand, 
to  hold  our  peace,  as  appears  from  the  following 
Scripture:  He  that  is  void  of  wisdom,  despiseth 
his  neighbour  :  but  a  man  of  understanding  holdeth 
his  peace.  Prov.  xi.  12.  Will  you  dare,  then,  to 
stand  up  for  a  gentleman,  a  lady,  or  a  Christian,  by 
virtue  of  cackling,  whispering,  and  evil  speaking, 
when  the  wise  man  declares  you  void  of  wisdom 
for  your  railings,  reviiings,  contumelies,  and  oblo- 


164 

quies  ?  "  The  words  of  his  mouth  were  smoother 
than  butter,  but  war  was  in  his  heart ;  his  words 
were  softer  than  oil,  yet  were  they  drawn  swords." 
Psalm  Iv.  21.  Yes,  there  is  a  destructive  cur- 
rent of  this  kind  of  butter  and  oil,  in  political,  re- 
ligious, and  conjugal  courtships,  with  serpentine 
whispers,  bendmg,  leaning,  looking  soft,  and  sigh- 
ing affectedly,  turning  up  and  down  the  eyes,  as  if 
they  were  immersed  in  the  milk  of  roses  ! 

It  is  a  full  evidence  of  our  being  liars,  when  we 
give  heed  to  tales,  whispers,  detractions,  evil  re- 
ports of  others,  backbitings,  &c ;  as  is  manifest 
from  the  Scripture  which  follows  :  A  wicked  doer 
giveth  heed  to  false  lips,  and  a  liar  giveth  ear  to  a 
naughty  tongue.  Prov.  xvii.  4.  Is  it  not  a  mor- 
tifying drawback  upon  receivers  of  stolen  reputa- 
tions to  be  accosted  with  such  vexatious  taxes  as 
malignity  and  lying  upon  their  hellish,  political, 
moral,  wise,  cautious,  and  very  Christian  joint 
funds  of  malicious,  innocent,  necessary,  question 
asking,  pumping,  hearing,  receiving,  publishing, 
purloining,  murdering  slanders  ?  Especially  as 
they  have  gained  so  much  by  holy  whispers,  de- 
vil's letters,  and  necessary  divisions  in  the  church, 
between  man  and  wife  ;  have  broke  up  ninety-nine 
matches  in  a  hundred,  and  put  in  the  old  serpent's 
nest  egss;  of  defamation  for  his  windy,  cackling, 
cluckers  to  hatch — which  leads  us  to  consider  a 
conversation  between  two  preachers  of  the  same 
sect :  One  of  the  ministers  urged  that  we  ought  to 
be  cautious  of  expelling  a  member,  without  bear- 
ing as  long  as  possible  ;  to  which  observation  the 
other  subjoined — "  But,  brother,  what  would  you 
do  if  a  complaint  was  laid  in  ?  To  which  he  re- 
plied— ^Have  them  up  for  laying  in  ;"  and  then 
immediately  called  such  church  whispering  by  the 


165 

opprobrious  name  of  laying  in,  and  that  the  devil 
was  the  midwife.  I  join  cordially  with  him,  and 
shall  now  produce  a  few  Scriptures  in  full  proof  of 
such  laying  in — and  first,  let  us  hear  the  patient 
king  Job  .  For  the  congregation  (or  church)  of 
hypocrites  shall  be  desolate,  and  fire  shall  consume 
the  tabernacles  of  bribery  ;  (then,  after  bribery, 
eomes  the  devil's  layings  in)  they  conceive  mis- 
chief and  bring  forth  vanity,  (or  iniquity,  margin) 
and  their  belly  prepareth  deceit.  Job  xv.  34,  35. 
They  wink,  plod,  and  bring  forth  slander.  Here 
is  a  laying  in  with  a  witness.  O  how  distressed 
they  are !  How  they  grunt  and  groan,  pray  and 
weep,  0  sister,  0  brother,  brother,  it  lays  upon  my 
mind,  until  out  comes  the  slander,  out  comes  the 
devil,  or  as  it  was  said  when  Gad  was  born,  a  troop 
cometh.  Behold,  (saith  David)  he  travaileth  with 
iniquity,  and  hath  conceived  mischief,  and  brought 
forth  falsehood.  Psalm  vii.  14.  He  hath  brought 
forth  falsehood  ;  yes,  as  Paul  saith  of  the  Cretans, 
They  are  all  liars,  evil  beasts,  sloxv  bellies,  Titus  i. 
12;  that  is,  gluttons.  None  calleth  for  justice, 
(upon  the  slanderer)  nor  any  pleadeth  for  truth  ; 
they  trust  in  vanity  and  speak  lies ;  they  con- 
ceive mischief  and  bring  forth  iniquity  ;  they  hatch 
cockatrice  (or  adders,  margin)  eggs,  and  weave  the 
spider's  web :  he  that  eateth  of  their  eggs  dieth, 
and  that  which  is  crushed  by  (whispering  and 
backbiting  hatching)  breaketh  out  into  a  viper. 
Isaiah  lix.  4,  5.  When  a  flock  of  Lucifer's  ped- 
lcrs  and  postriders  in  tattling,  lay  a  nest  full  of 
slandering  eggs,  all  his  clucking,  cackling,  gad- 
ding gossippers,  from  the  preacher  down  to  the 
infant  kitchen  walloper,  fly  into  the  nest  and  hatch, 
crush,  and  whisper,  until,  as  the  text  hath  it,  that 
which  is  crashed  breaketh  out  into  a  viper.  A  fiery, 


166 

flying  serpent,  "  a  world  of  iniquity,"  setting  on  fire 
the  whole  course  of  nature  ! 

If  slanderers  were  classed  by  statute  law,  as  are 
other  and  smaller  criminals,  then  justice,  in  such 
cases,  would  no  longer  be  doubtful,  but  certain, 
distributive,  and  equally  remunerative.  As,  for 
instance,  in  the  crime  of  burglary,  which  word  is 
derived  from  the  German  burg  and  larran,  from 
the  Latin  latro  ;  and,  according  to  judge  Hale's 
definition,  burglary  is  a  felony  at  common  law,  in 
breaking,  entering  the  mansion  house  of  another  in 
the  night,  with  intent  to  commit  felony  within  the 
same,  whether  the  felonious  intent  be  executed  or 
not. — Hale^s  Pleas,  79.  By  the  same  principle 
would  a  slanderer  be  justly  deemed  guilty  of  worse 
than  burglary  or  house  breaking,  by  breaking  in 
upon  the  reputation,  which  is  equal  to  five  hun- 
dred mansion  houses,  with  all  their  appurtenances. 
Hale  saith  "  that  an  actual  breaking  is  opening  the 
casement  or  breaking  the  glass  window,  picking 
open  the  lock  of  a  door."  1  H.  H.  552.  Without 
controversy  there  is  no  casement  in  this  world  so 
valuable  as  the  reputation,  no  glass  window  so  ea- 
sily broken  in  as  character,  and  no  lock  so  danger- 
ous to  pick  as  private  and  family  secrets,  or  the 
lock  of  true  affectionate  promise  of  marriage, 
the  breaking  up  of  which  ought  to  be  punished 
with  worse  than  that  for  burglary  or  house  break- 
ing ;  and  as  this  cannot  be  done  by  the  common 
law,  it  certainly  should  be  provided  for  by  statute. 
"  George  Gibbo?is  was  indicted  at  the  Old  Bailey, 
1752,  for  burglary  (or  house  breaking)  in  the 
dwelling  house  of  John  Allen,  for  cutting  a  hole  in 
the  window  shutter  of  the  prosecutor's  shop,  which 
was  part  of  his  dwelling  house,  and  putting  his 
hand  through  the  hole,  took  out  watches  and  other 


167 

things  which  hung  in  the  shop  within  his  reach ; 
but  no  entry  was  proved,  otherwise  than  by  put- 
ting his  hand  through  the  hole.  This  was  held  to 
be  burglary,  and  the  prisoner  was  convicted. " — 
Judge  Foster y  107.  Certainly,  then,  without  it 
can  be  made  to  appear  that  cutting  a  hole  through 
shutters,  taking  out  a  few  watches  and  other  things 
amounts  to  more  loss  and  criminality  than  break- 
ing in  upon  and  stealing  the  character,  you  cannot, 
yea,  we  ought  not  to  withhold  our  assent  to  a  law, 
under  which  the  slanderer  would  be  subjected  to 
at  least  an  equal  penalty  with  the  house  cutter ; 
watch,  and  trash  stealer.  Arson  or  burning  houses, 
"  it  done  by  mischance  or  negligence,  is  no  felony." 
3  inst.  67  ;  but  if  done  "  maliciously,  by  night  or 
by  day.,  is  felony  at  the  common  law,"  if  the  house 
be  that  of  another.  1  Hawkins,  105.  Why  not, 
then,  equally  punish  the  slanderer  for  maliciously 
setting  a  character  on  fire,  and  burning  it?  More 
especially  as  he  hath  more  accessories  in  the  vil- 
lainy, and  his  tongue  sets  on  fire  the  whole  course 
of  nature,  being  set  on  fire  of  hell ! 

"  Felony  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the 
Saxon  word  fell,  which  signifies  to  be  fierce  or 
cruel-,  of  which  the  verb  fell  signifies  to  throw 
down  or  demolish,  and  the  substantive  of  that  name 
is  used  to  signify  a  mountain,  rough  and  uncultiva- 
ted, or,  more  generally  an  offence  at  large  ;  and  the 
Saxon  word  fallen,  signifies  to  offend,  i\\\dfiilnisset 
an  offence  ov  failure." — Starke'' s  Virg.  Justice. 

In  this  sense  it  is  LARCENY.  This  word 
comes  from  Latrocinium,  Latrociny,  and  by  con- 
traction— Larceny,  3  inst.  107  ;  which  is  stealing 
and  carrrying  way  feloniously  with  evil  intention. 

41  Grand  larceny  is  a  felonious  and  fraudulent 
taking  and  carrying  away,  by  any  person,  of  the 


168 

mere  personal  goods  of  another,  always  accompa- 
nied with  an  evil  intention,  and  therefore  shall  not 
be  imputed  to  a  mere  mistake." — 1  Hawkins,  65, 
82.  You  will  undoubtedly  pronounce,  that  no  fell- 
er, thrower  down,  stealer,  or  carrier  away,  of  evil 
intention,  is  the  one  hundredth  part  as  great  a  feller, 
thrower  down,  or  demolisher  as  the  feller,  thrower 
down,  and  demolisher  of  reputation,  resulting  in  the 
most  direful  damnation — who,  therefore,  ought  to 
be  brought  under  the  full  force  and  punishment  of 
the  statute  of  felony,  when  his  or  her  slanders  shall 
have  produced,  "  of  evil  intention ,"  as  much  dam- 
age as  the  worth  of  a  common  horse ;  and  certainly, 
without  controversy,  it  requires  but  a  small  wink, 
whisper,  or  nod  from  a  pedler  or  trader  of  his  Lu- 
cifer ian  majesty,  to  produce  as  much  felony  and 
real  injury  as  horse  stealing. 

"Homicide,  koy  killing)  to  make  it  justifiable,  it 
must  be  owing  to  some  unavoidable  necessity,  to 
which  the  person  who  kills  another  must  be  redu- 
ced, without  any  manner  of fault  in  himself" — 1 
Hawkins,  69. 

"  And  there  must  be  no  malice  coloured  under 
pretence  of  necessity  ;  for  wherever  a  person,  who 
kills  another,  acts  m  truth  upon  malice,  and  takes 
occasion,  from  the  appearance  of  necessity,  to  exe- 
cute his  own  private  revenge,  he  is  guilty  of  mur- 
der.— ibid. 

Malice  being  almost  always  coloured  under  the 
appearance  of  necessity  by  slanderers,  ought  also 
to  be  met  by  the  appearance  of  necessary  statute 
law,  under  which  the  church  of  the  malignant s 
could  not  colour  malice  by  an  hypocritical  neces- 
sity. And  this  is  the  more  necessary  at  this  timey 
for,  in  thee  are  men  that  carry  tales  to  shed  blood. 
(or  men  of  slanders,  margin;  Ezek.  xxii.  9.  So  that 
tales  are  slanders  in  EzekieL     Mark  that !  ! ! 


169 

Indictment  for  high  treason,  against  the  Lord 
our  righteousness. 
Commonwealth  of  Israel,  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  church  and 
state,  upon  their  oath,  present — That  long  before 
and  until  the  first  year  yr  our  Lord,  there  was 
open  war   between  the    *eed  of  the   woman  and 
Abaddon,  or  the  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
that  the  said  war  continues  until  this  first  of  Janu- 
ary, 1817,  and  that  for  ail  the  time  aforesaid,  the 
said  Abaddon  and  his  slanderous  subjects  were, 
and  at  present  are,  enemies  of  peace,  meekness, 
and  gentleness  ;  and  that  during  all  the  time  of  the 
war,  aforesaid,  between  the  church  of  God  and  the 
said  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  late  of  the  parish 
of  defamation,  in  the  county  of  a  world  of  iniquity, 
a  host  of  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls,  of  differ- 
ent occupations,  operations,  trades,  countries,  lan- 
guages, complexions,  manners,  customs,  profes- 
sions, religions,  &c,  professing  themselves  to  be 
subjects  of  well  regulated  governments  and  reli- 
gions, yet  being  traitors  and  rebels  against  the  said 
commonwealth  of  universal  charity,  not  having 
the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  but  being  moved 
and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  and  al- 
together withdrawing  that  true  and  due  obedience 
and  cordial  love,  which  every  faithful  subject  and 
citizen  of  the  said  commonwealth  toward  the  same 
should,  and  by  right,  and  by  the  law  of  love  ought 
to  have  and  bear,  and  the  said  war,  with  all  their 
slandering  strength,  and  as  much  as  in  them  lay 
against  the  said  commonwealth  of  loving  friends 
and  foes,  designing  and  intending  to  prosecute  and 
assist,  at  all  favorable  opportunities,  in  every  place, 
with  force  of  tongues  and  slanderous  pens,  falsely, 
maiiciouslv,  wickedlv,  and  traitorously  were  adhe- 

P 


170 

rent  to  the  aforesaid  enemies  of  the  said  common- 
wealth, of  Christian  union,  love,  silence,  forgive- 
ness, and  oblivion  upon  the  past,  within  the  same, 
to  wit,  at  the  horns  of  the  altar,  at  the  communion 
table,  in  private  council,  and  public  conversation  ; 
in  the  temple  of  justice,  and  the  ark  of  state  ;  over 
cups,  glasses  and  plates  ;  in  houses,  vessels,  and 
streets  ;  on  beds,  couches,  and  chairs  ;  in  coaches, 
chaises,  park  phaetons,  whims,  gigs,  carts,  and 
upon  horseback ;  in  the  places,  aforesaid,  mali- 
ciously and  traitorously  giving  to  them,  the  said 
enemies  of  the  said  commonwealth,  backbiting, 
detracting,  whispering,  letter  libelling,  nodding, 
winking,  laughing,  shrugging,  peeping,  punning, 
grunting,  groaning,  controversial  preaching,  weep- 
ing, bribing,  and  circulating  aid  and  comfort  in 
the  said  commonwealth  of  the  state  and  church,  to 
wit,  at  the  church  aforesaid,  the  bar,  the  pulpit,  the 
press,  the  tea,  coffee,  wine,  and  grog  table,  also  in 
private  conclaves  of  priests  and  Levites,  by  plans 
of  "  theoretical  vengeance"  against  other  religious 
societies,  by  receiving  traitorous,  sly,  interesting, 
partial  communications,  by  solemn  mummeries, 
the  offspring  of  rebellious  enmity,  and  productive 
of  confusion,  and  the  aggrandizement  of  the  rich 
and  influential ;  and  furthermore,  by  a  strife  in  the 
church  who  shall  be  greatest  in  the  places  afore- 
said, and  that  in  execution  and  performance  of  be- 
ing so  traitorously  adherent  to  the  said  enemies  of 
the  said  commonwealth,  within  the  same  civil  and 
Christian  bodies,  as  aforesaid  ;  they,  the  said  slan- 
dering maligners,  at  the  said  every  favorable  place 
and  time,  within  the  said  commonwealths  of  state 
and  church,  to  wit,  at  church,  bar,  statehouse,  by 
preaching,  pleading,  plodding,  and  writing,  as  also 
over  hot  cup  slander,  walking,  standing,  riding, 


171 

and  sitting,  in  the  commonwealths  aforesaid,  mali- 
ciously and  traitorously  were  in  arms  against  the 
said  commonwealth,  with  divers  other  backbiting 
rebels  and  whispering  traitors,  and  did  then  and 
there  shoot  oft* and  discharge  ten  thousand  slander- 
ing guns,  one  of  which  was  called  truth,  very  slyly, 
then  and  there  charged  with  murdering,  lying,  ma- 
licious, and  inconsiderate  defamations  upon  and 
against  every  person,  especially  all  those  who  were 
not  conducive  to  their  fancy,  interest,  or  pleasure, 
not  excepting  even  their  superiors  or  equals  in  other 
churches  or  their  own  communities,  and  men  too 
raised  up  as  trained  militia,  volunteers,  and  regulars, 
located  and  itinerant,  under  the  command  of  the 
generals,  colonels,  lieutenant  colonels,  majors,  cap- 
tains, subalterns,  &c.  assembled  under  due  autho- 
rity from  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  purpose  of  sub- 
duing them,  the  said  lords  over  God's  heritage, 
and  the  other  altarscraping,  covetous,  cringing, 
whining,  whispering,  sly  bribing,  and  being  bribed, 
secret  letter  writing,  winking,  cackling,  grunting, 
groaning,  pinching,  high  eyed  frowning,  tossing 
nosed,  pale  lip'd,  angle  eyed,  sharp  tongued,  stiff 
looking,  calf  eyed  blaters,  and  other  slandering  re- 
bels and  traitors  associated  with  them  as  aforesaid, 
they,  the  said  devil's  pedlers  and  traders,  thereby 
traitorously  and  boisterously  endeavouring  to  sub- 
vert and  destroy  the  independence  of  the  said  com- 
monwealth of  Christian  silence,  love,  forgiveness, 
and  forbearance,  and  the  present  constitution  and 
government  thereof,  and  to  restore  the  power,  au- 
thority, jurisdiction,  and  domination  of  the  said 
slandering  Apollyon,  the  old  serpent,  and  his  host 
of  public  and  private,  male  and  female,  bond  and 
free,  old  and  young,  pulpit  and  press,  cup  and 
wine,  whining  and  groaning,  peeping  and  winking 


172 

backbiters,  against  the  duty  of  the  allegiance  of 
them,  the  said  ministers  of  the  sanctuary  and  its 
faithful  members,  to  the  evil  example  of  all  others 
in  the  like  cases  offending ;  against  the  form  of 
sound  words  contained  in  the  royal  law  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  Psalms,  the 
prophets,  the  Lord's  Gospels,  and  the  epistles,  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided,  and  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  said  commonwealth  of 
the  Israel  of  God  and  these  United  States  ! 

"  Every  offence  immediately  affecting  the  pre- 
rogative or  dignity"  of  a  government,  consequent- 
ly of  God,  is,  in  some  degree,  a  breach  of  our  al- 
legiance to  it  and  to  him — such  as  judging  our 
brother  by  rules  founded  upon  injustice,  not  war- 
ranted by,  but  protested  against  in  the  Scriptures. 
Psalm  1.  18,  19,  20. 

"  Treason,  proditio,  in  its  very  name  (which  is 
borrowed  from  the  French)  imports  a  betraying, 
treachery,  or  breach  of  faith.  For  treason  is  a  gen- 
ral  appellation  made  use  of  by  the  law  to  denote 
not  only  offences  against  the  government,  but  also 
that  accumulation  of  guilt  which  arises  whenever  a 
superior  reposes  a  confidence  in  a  subject  or  infe- 
rior, between  whom  and  himself  there  subsists  a 
natural,  a  civil,  or  even  a  spiritual  relation,  and  the 
inferior  so  abuses  that  confidence  as  to  forget  his 
obligations." — 4th  Blackstone,  75. 

"If  a  man  be  adherent  to  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  or  by  surrendering  a  fortress,  or  the  like. 
By  enemies  are  understood  the  subjects  of  foreign 
powers." 

If  a  man  counterfeit  the  king  of  heaven's  privy 
seal,  or  God's  current  coin,  that  is  to  say,  his 
word  of  truth,  or  bring  in  false  money  into  the 
church,  not  only  by  importing  the  devil's  coin, 


173 

that  is,  slander  and  false  rules  of  judgment,  but  by- 
uttering  or  circulating  it  in  the  church,  this  is  trea- 
son ;  as  though  in  the  United  States  we  had  done 
the  like  against  the  law  of  the  land. 

Let  us  apply  these  principles  to  the  preceding 
indictment,  1st.  Unlawfully  judging,  while  we 
have  a  beam  (or  splinter)  in  our  own  eye,  thus  act- 
ing as  one  culprit  trying  another,  Matt.  vii.  1,  2, 
3  ;  that  is,  a  beam  slanderer  judging  a  mote  drunk- 
ard !  !  !  2dly.  A  breach  of  faith.  Whenever,  in 
church  government,  we  shew  respect  to  persons, 
a  thing  very  common  say  you,  by  having  the  faith 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  inclining  us  to  know  any 
person  after  the  flesh  on  account  of  church  favors 
or  blood,  we  are  guilty  of  treason.  James  ii.  1,  9. 
Look  at  what  we  do  to  poor  Cush.  3diy.  If  we 
are  adherent  to  the  enemies  of  God,  such  as  whis- 
perers, backbiters,  talebearers,  maligners,  &c.  we 
are  guilty  of  treason.  JRom.  i.  30.  4thly.  When 
we  surrender  the  fortress  of  justice,  which  admits 
of  no  hearsay  evidence  from  bishop,  presbyter,  el- 
der, levite,  or  any  other  devil's  pedler  ;  or  of  mer- 
=  cy,  which  rejoices  over  justice,  attending  to  the 
spirit  and  habit  of  evil  speaking,  we  are  justly 
charged  with  treason.  Matt,  xviii.  15  to  55.  5thly. 
When  we  counterfeit  the  current  coin  of  charity, 
(by  religious  conclaves)  which  rejoices  in  hope  of 
a  fallen  brother's  recovery,  where  our  faith  in  him 
is  lost,  we  act  treasonably.  Rev.  xxii.  19  1  Cor. 
xiii.  7.  Mark  this,  my  Lord  Pope  Diotrephes. 
Gthly.  Or  if  we  import  the  false  coin  of  partiality, 
or  lording,  by  religious  struts,  over  God's  heritage, 
by  being  the  first  to  introduce  a  public  church 
censure,  Rom.  i.  30,  without  first  striving  pri- 
vately to  reclaim  a  brother ;  or  if  we  permit  the 
devil's  pedlers  to  pay  us  so  well  by  buttering  both 

p  2 


174 

sides  of  our  bread,  as  to  produce  upon  us,  Judas 
like,  a  money,  meat,  drink,  honorable  or  ambitious 
result,  we  are  then  not  cash  proof,  and  are  but  a 
few  steps  from  the  highest  treason.  1  Peter  v.  2, 
3.  But  7thly.  When  we  shall  have  the  wicked- 
ness to  be  men  stealers,  or,  which  is  as  bad,  to  be 
accessories  to  man  stealing,  that  is  to  say,  to  be 
led  by  the  nose  by  sly,  slandering  grunters,  groan- 
ers,  whisperers,  and  reviling  weepers,  or  make  their 
houses  our  prejudging  hotels,  with  silver,  china, 
cut  glass,  line  carpets,  nice  beds,  sweet  meats, 
smooth  words,  shining  tables,  select  companies, 
polite  introductions,  agreeable  parties,  sweethearts, 
and  backbiting  bills  of  fare — Death  is  in  the  pot. 

Indictment  for  slandering  a  man  into  despera- 
tion, and  provoking  him  to  hang  his  friend  and 
himself. 
London,  to  wit; 

The  jurors  for  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain, 
upon  their  oath,  present — That  Tom  Talkative 
and  Goose  Gabble,  late  of  the  parish  of  company 
cackle,  in  the  county  of  Talebearing,  idlers ;  who 
are  not  yet  taken,  (preachers,  churches,  and  legis- 
latures not  having  done  their  duty)  not  having  the 
fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  but  being  moved  and 
seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  on  the  25th 
day  of  December,  1 790,  with  force  of  tongues  set 
on  fire  of  hell  at  the  parish  aforesaid,  in  the  county- 
aforesaid,  in  and  upon  one  A.  M.  a  sincere  lover 
in  the  peace  of  God,  and  of  the  said  kingdom, 
then  and  there  being,  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of 
their  malice  aforethought,  did  make  an  assault ; 
and  they,  the  said  Tom  Talkative  and  Goose  Gab- 
ble, with  both  the  tongues  of  them,  the  said  Talk- 
ative and  Gabble,  the  said  A.  M.  sincere  lover,  in 


175 

and  upon  the  family,  character,  and  religion,  (as 
two  assassins  would  do  upon  the  head,  back,  face, 
stomach,  sides,  and  breast)  of  him,  the  said  sincere 
lover,  then  and  there  wilfully,  and  of  their  malice 
aforethought,  did  wound  and  bruise,  by  tongues 
and  pens,  secretly  giving  to  the  said  sincere  lover 
by  the  slanderous  beating  and  wounding  of  him, 
the  said  sincere  lover,  as  aforesaid,  several  mortal 
wounds  and  calumniating  bruises ;  and  also  that 
the  said  Tom  Talkative  and  Goose  Gabble  drove, 
by  their  malicious  invectives,  the  said  sincere  lover, 
into  such  disappointment,  grief,  and  desperation, 
that  sinking  at  last  under  a  heavy  load  of  vexation 
and  melancholy,  he,  the  said  true  lover,  killed  his 
beloved  and  then  dispatched  himself;  and  thus 
they,  the  said  Talkative  and  Gabble,  by  slandering 
the  said  sincere  lover,  did  then  and  there  felonious- 
ly, wilfully,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  did 
tie  and  make  fast  the  said  beloved  Mary  Ann,  with 
the  cord  aforesaid,  unto  a  branch  of  the  length  of 
six  feet,  and  of  the  thickness  of  four  inches,  and  of 
the  height  of  ten  feet,  of  a  certain  weeping  willow 
then  and  there  growing,  feloniously  and  wilfully, 
and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  did  tie,  make  fast, 
suspend  and  hang,  at  the  height  of  two  feet  above 
the  earth ;  and  the  said  innocent,  dove-like  Mary 
Ann,  by  the  suspension  and  hanging  then  and 
there  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of  their  malice 
aforethought,  by  the  effect  of  whispering,  did  stran- 
gle and  suffocate,  and  the  neck  of  her  and  him,  the 
said  Mary  innocent  and  sincere  lover,  did  break 
and  dislocate,  of  which  bruises,  strangling,  and 
breaking  of  the  the  necks  of  them,  the  said  true  lo- 
ver and  Mary  innocent,  they,  the  said  true  lovers, 
then  and  there  instantly  died.  And  so  the  jurors 
aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  aforesaid,  do  say  that  the 


176 

said  Tom  Talkative  and  Goose  Gabble,  the  said 
innocent  lovers,  in  manner  and  form  aforesaid,  felo- 
niously, wilfully,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought, 
did  kill  and  murder  against  the  peace  and  dignity 
of  the  aforesaid  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  Lord  our 
righteousness,  his  crown  and  kingdom. 

"  The  cause  of  a  cause  is  the  cause  of  its  effects." 
As,  for  instance,  to  throw  a  shovel  full  of  hot  burn- 
ing coals  upon  a  heap  of  any  exploding  or  fulmi- 
nating substance,  as  a  magazine  of  powder,  mixed 
with  destructive  engines  of  war,  makes  us  justly 
chargeable  with  the  consequences  of  the  explosion, 
whatever  they  may  be. 

Man,  in  his  corrupt  composition,  contains  a  ho- 
rific  mass  of  combustibles,  such  as  envy,  hatred, 
revenge,  hypochondriac,  melancholy  madness,  &x  ; 
whenever,  therefore,  the  tongue  which  is  set  on 
fire  of  hell  is  let  loose,  its  destructive  power  is  such 
that,  like  a  match,  although  it  cannot  load,  yet  it 
discharges  the  combustible  materials  of  which  en- 
vy, hatred,  love,  and  revenge  are  composed,  and 
upon  whomsoever  it  may  drop,  it  is  as  destructive 
in  general  as  an  earthquake  tearing  a  country,  un- 
less we  are  much  upon  our  guard,  which  often  we 
cannot  be.  If  it  fall  upon  the  great  they  may  out- 
ride the  storm,  and  ruin  their  maligners  who,  in  tak- 
ing revenge,  give  themselves  up  to  a  habit  of  malev- 
olence, lay  a  foundation  for  another  injury,  and  trea- 
sure up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  for  assum- 
ing the  prerogative  of  God  ;  but  let  this  calumny 
descend  like  the  vertical  lightning  upon  the  head  of 
a  poor,  friendless  stranger,  or  orphan,  or,  as  our 
indictment  implies,  a  man  whose  disappointment 
of  his  love  is  to  him  as  the  shadow  of  death,  he  now 
has  lost  his  almost  possessed  delight,  but,  like  a 


177 

man  who  has,  or  imagines  he  has,  lost  his  last  vo- 
lition to  buffet  the  waves,  after  having  long  strug- 
gled against  the  gaping  surge,  he  instantly  medi- 
tates the  damnable  deed,  and  first,  through  disap- 
pointed, mad  love,  envy,  and  ambition,  he  blights 
the  former  flower  of  his  joys,  and  then  kills  himself 
through  wild  chaotic  pity,  malicious  insanity,  and 
eternal  revenge  !  Whose  fault?  No  doubt  that  of 
the  malicious  slanderer.  Great  God  !  what  will 
not  men  do  when  driven  on  by  the  fierce  passions 
of  disappointment  and  despair?  The  cunning 
supplanter  may  repent :  but  what  can  weeping  do  ? 
Can  it  restore  ruined  confidence,  innocence,  and 
happiness  ?  No.  Can  it  raise  the  dead,  or  redeem 
the  souls  which  it  has  damned,  back  again  to  salva- 
tion ?  No,  no,  no  !  ! 

Indictment  for  murder,  by  tongue  lashing  a 
stranger. 
Maryland,  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Maryland, 
upon  their  oath,  present — That  Peep  Chatter  and 
Tea  cups,  of  the  county  of  Still  cap,  Lucifer's  ped- 
Jers  ;  not  having  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes, 
but  being  moved  and  seduced  by  the  instigation  of 
the  devil,  on  the  17th  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1788,  with  tongue  lashing  force  and  backbit- 
ing arms,  in  the  county  aforesaid,  in  and  upon  one 
patriotic  stranger  and  foreigner  in  the  peace  of  God, 
and  of  the  said  commonwealth,  then  and  there  be- 
ing, did  make  an  ill-natured,  sly,  oral,  and  written 
assault ;  and  that  the  said  Peep  Chatter  and  Tea 
cups  cackle,  with  a  eertain  axe  called  "  put  the  in- 
nocent upon  their  guard,"  and  punish  the  wicked 
under  pretence  of  glorifying  God  and  producing 
public  good,  which  axe  they,  the  said  Peep  Chat- 


178 

ter,  Poll  Plot,  Sail  Slander,  and  Tea  Topnot,  in  all 
their  slandering  might,  with  hands,  hearts,  and  eyes 
hypocritically  lifted  up  to  heaven,  groaning,  grunt- 
ing, praying,  weeping,  and  pitying  the  poor  stran- 
ger for  whom  they  were  mixing  up  the  poison  of 
asps,  in  the  presence  of  two  white  eyed,  stiff  look- 
ing preachers  now  and  then  smiling  and  throwing 
up  their  eyes  like  dying  calves,  in  and  out  of  the 
pulpit,  which  slandering  axe,  I  say  they,  the  said 
suspicious,  jealous,  sly,  cunning,  railing  and  revil- 
ing babblers,  then  and  there  held,  in  and  upon  the 
head  of  him,  the  said  stranger,  by  raising  up  ene- 
mies ;  they,  the  said  devil's  pedlers,  whining, 
weeping,  peeping,  and,  like  foxes,  creeping,  did 
then  and  there  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of  their 
malice  aforethought,  privately  and  slanderously 
strike  and  wound  the  reputation,  giving  to  him, 
the  said  patriotic  stranger  of  nice  sensibility,  ten 
thousand  mortal,  scandalous  wounds  and  blows,  se- 
cretly and  publicly  timed  and  placed  through  envy, 
covetousness,  pride,  infidelity,  and  religious  ambi- 
tion, some  of  which  were  inflicted  at  the  pulpit,  of 
which  said  mortal  wounds  and  blows  he,  the  said 
innocent,  patriotic  stranger  and  foreigner,  slowly, 
politically,  religiously,  naturally,  and  eternally  died. 
And  so  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oaths,  afore- 
said, do  say  that  the  said  sly,  civil,  and  religious 
backbiters,  the  aforesaid  stranger,  in  manner  and 
form  aforesaid,  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of  their 
malice  aforethought,  did  kill  and  murder,  against 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Maryland. 

"  Lastly,  (saith  Blackstone)  the  killing  must  be 
committed  with  malice  aforethought  to  make  it  the 
crime  of  murder.  And  this  is  malice  prepense, 
not  so  properly  spite  or  malevolence  to  the  deceas- 


179 

ed  in  particular,  as  any  evil  design  in  general,  the 
dictate  of  a  wicked,  depraved,  and  malignant  heart ; 
and  it  may  be  either  express  or  implied  in  law.  Ex- 
press malice  is  when  one  with  a  sedate,  deliberate 
mind  and  formed  design  doth  kill  another,  which 
formed  design  is  evidenced  by  external  circum- 
stances discovering  that  inward  intention,  as  lying 
in  wait,  antecedent  menaces,  former  grudges,  and 
concerted  schemes  to  do  him  some  bodily  harm. 
Also,  if  even  upon  a  sudden  provocation,  one  beats 
another  in  a  cruel  and  unusual  manner,  so  that  he 
dies,  though  he  did  not  intend  his  death,  yet  he  is 
guilty  of  murder  by  express  malice  ;  that  is,  by  an 
express,  evil  design,  the  genuine  sense  of  malitia" 
4th  Blackstone,  198,  199. 

Consequently,  by  the  application  of  these  two 
principles  of  express  and  implied  malice  to  the 
slandering  murderer ;  he  is  equally  an  assassin. 
He  intends,  he  designs,  he  compasses  the  death, 
he  lies  in  wait  to  slay  with  the  tongue  ;  he  or  she, 
and  both  poison  the  public  mind  and  the  minds  of 
the  members  of  the  church ;  he  or  she  by  their 
tongues,  form  ambushes,  make,  load,  and  sharpe» 
guns,  poinards,  bayonets,  knives,  and  razors ; 
shoot,  stab,  wound,  and  kill  by  creating  reports  and 
jealousies,  publicly  and  privately,  by  accusing 
strangers  of  treasons,  felonies,  insurrections,  and 
other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  He  that 
hateth  his  brother  is  a  mxtrdcrer.   1  John  iii.  15. 

"  And  it  is  no  excuse  at  the  bar  of  conscience" 
to  say  I  only  said  this  or  thus,  upon  a  sudden  pro- 
vocation, for  this  is  (saith  Blackstone)  "  murder 
by  express  malice,  that  is,  by  an  express  evil  de- 
sign, the  genuine  sense  of  malitia  ?>  Horse  stealing 
is  virtue  and  honesty  compared  with  it. 


180 

Why  then  do  not  legislatures  imprison  and  hang 
the  slandering  murderer  as  well  as  other  assassins, 
it  being  the  same  principle  ?  as  it  is  immaterial  to 
poor,  feeble  strangers,  whether  they  are  killed  by 
the  slow  jaw'd  maligner  or  the  sharp  shooter,  only 
that  the  former  is  most  malignant  and  destructive  ! 

Indictment  for  passing  forged  Gospel  notes. 
Pennsylvania,  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, upon  their  oath,  present — That  Bill  Bribeall, 
and  Sacerdotal  Being  bribed,  late  of  the  parish  of 
religious  swindling,  in  the  county  of  Gospel  gos- 
siping, church  brokers,  unlawfully  and  unjustly 
contriving  and  intending  one  poor,  moneyless, 
slighted  orphan  to  aggrieve  and  impoverish  in  cha- 
racter, on  the  30th  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1815,  and  with  force  and  arms  of  a  bought 
group  of  plattermongering  whisperers,  convenient- 
ly brought  over  by  meats,  drinks,  clothes,  compli- 
ments, honors,  favors,  &c.  at  the  parish  of  religious 
swindling  and  county  of  Gospel  gossipping  afore- 
said, of  the  wicked  mind,  intention,  and  imagina- 
tion of  them  the  said  church  brokers,  one  certain 
forged  and  counterfeit  Gospel  receipt,  partly  print- 
ed, partly  written  on  paper,  partly  signified  by  signs, 
such  as  tossing  up  the  head,  assenting  by  a  wild 
duck  nod,  a  shrug  of  reserved  abhorrence,  a  toss 
of  the  nose,  a  frown  of  the  eyebrows,  a  grimmace, 
a  groan,  a  high  look  of  justice,  all  purporting  to  be 
true  receipts,  subscribed  by  patriarchs  and  pro- 
phets, Jesus  Christ  and  the  apostles,  to  wit :  C.  & 
J.  they,  the  said  T.  C.  and  J.J.  being  inspectors  of 
church  government  (as  inspectors  of  tobacco  are 
upon  James'  river)  in  the  house  of  God,  anciently 
on  the  river  of  Gospel  discipline,  all  the  time  of 


181 

their  merciful  and  just  ministry,  that  is  to  say,  the 
said  church  notes  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  spirit 
having  the  following  marks,  to  wit :  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  Lev.  xix.  18.  All 
things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them.  Matt.  vii.  12. 
Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour.  Pom.  xiii. 
10.  If  thy  brother  trespass,  tell  him  of  his  fault 
between  thee  and  him  alone.  Matt,  xviii.  15.  If 
thy  brother  trespass  seven  times  a  day,  and  repent, 
thou  shalt  forgive  him.  Luke  xvii.  4.  If  any  be 
overtaken  in  a  fault,  ye  who  are  spiritual,  restore 
such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  considering 
thyself,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted.  Gal.  vi.  1.  I 
charge  thee  before  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  elect  angels,  that  thou  observe  these  things 
without  prefering  one  (or  without  prejudice,  mar- 
gin) before  another,  do  nothing  by  partiality.  1 
Tim.  v.  21.  And  also  having  the  following  num- 
bers, to  wit:  Chanty  suffereth  long  and  is  kind; 
charity  envicth  not ;  charity  vaunteth  not  itself,  for 
is  not  rash,  margin)  is  not  puffed  up,  is  not  pro- 
voked ;  secketh  not  her  own  ;  thinketh  no  evil ; 
beareth  all  things;  hopeth  all  things,  where  faith  in 
a  brother  fails  ;  endureth  all  things,  even  the  faults 
of  a  Peter.  And  also  having  the  following  weights  : 
Charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins.  1  Peter  iv.  8. 
Love  covereth  all  sins.  Prov.  x.  12.  He  that  iov- 
eth  another  hath  fulfilled  the  law.  Mom.  x  ii.  8. 
And  being  of  the  species  of  religion  seripturally 
called  fervent  charity,  fas  we  say,  sweet  scented 
leaf )  And  the  said  forged  and  counterfeited  re- 
ceipts also  purporting  that  the  said  management  of 
church  government  was  to  be  deiivered  by  them, 
the  said  prophets,  Jesus,  and  apostles,  to  the  said 
jolt  headed  juggler,  lord  over  God's  heritage,  and 

Q 


182 

blating  broker,  for  exportation  from  one  slandering 
conclave  to  another  when  demanded,  feloniously 
did  pass  in  payment  to  the  sleepy,  barking,  greedy, 
partial,  slandering  shepherd,  the  sly  lord  over  God's 
heritage,  the  said  devil's  pedler,  on  the  said  13th 
day  of  July,  in  the  year  aforesaid,  at  the  parish 
aforesaid,  in  the  county  aforesaid,  and  especially  at 
the  times  and  places  of  so  passing  the  said  coun- 
terfeit receipts  of  hearsay  evidence,  by  sly  letters, 
whispers,  shrugs,  groans,  hypocritical  tears,  adding 
aggravated  and  envious  motives,  emulations,  &c. 
in  payment  of  Gospel  discipline  to  the  said  organi- 
zed church  of  God,  knowing  the  same  to  have  been 
forged  and  counterfeited,  from  their  own  sensibility 
of  not  being  willing  to  have  the  like  villainies  prac- 
tised upon  themselves,  to  the  evil  example  of  all 
others  in  like  cases,  offending  against  the  law  of 
love  and  form  of  sound  doctrine,  as  contained  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  in  such  case  made 
and  provided,  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  these  United  States. 
When  ministers  of  the  sanctuary  have  been 
brought  up  honestly  and  politely  in  their  father's 
houses,  before  their  induction  into  the  priestly  of- 
fice, what  a  blessing  is  it  to  the  congregations 
among  whom  they  labor !  And  when  superadded 
thereunto  they  have  had  a  religious  education,  like 
Timothy,  whose  grandmother  Lois,  and  whose 
mother  Eunice  had,  and  no  doubt  taught  him,  un- 
feigned faith,  2  Tim.  i.  5,  the  oufit  is  doubly  bless- 
ed. And  we  ought  not  to  forget,  that  to  he  brought 
up  and  nursed  in  the  lap,  and  to  inhale  the  sincere 
milk  of  equal  liberty,  is  to  have  another  and  very 
shining  qualification  for  the  pulpit.  Subjoined  to 
these,  a  general  knowledge  of  history  would  be 
very  necessary  to  enlighten  his  understanding  with 


183 

biography,  chronology,  geography,  and  heraldry  ; 
his  mind  thus  enlarged,  would  indignantly  look 
down  upon  little  church  whispering  as  an  eagle 
upon  a  grasshopper,  or  poisonous  creeping  reptile. 
But  on  the  contrary,  if  a  man  has  been  born  of 
low-bred,  cunning  parentage,  that  is,  a  covetous, 
malicious,  envious,  revengeful,  double  minded, 
partial,  slandering  breed ;  O  house  of  God,  death 
is  in  the  pot — for  what  he  sees  he  circulates  ;  if  he 
goes  into  a  house  he  gazes,  listens,  and  reports ; 
when  he  beholds  a  poor  brother  or  sister  overtaken 
in  a  fault,  instead  of  restoring  such  a  one  in  the  spi- 
rit of  meekness,  considering  himself  lest  he  also  be 
thus  tempted  and  overcome,  Gal.  vi.  1,  he  either 
thunders  and  lightens  upon  them,  and  to  justify  his 
austerity,  quotes  some  raspish  scripture,  with  a 
snap,  a  stamp,  and  a  frown,  answerable  to  his 
haughty,  lordly  mind,  or  informs,  witnesses,  tries, 
overrules,  condemns,  reviles,  and  expels,  as  one  of 
his  compeers  once  did,  who  said — "  Go  out  and 
take  the  sound  of  damnation  with  you  ;"  and  strut- 
ting triumphantly  offhe  boasts,  "  I'll  be  bound  that 
I,  pronoun  I,  myself,  will  exercise  church  disci- 
ple ;"  or  he  frequents  the  table  of  corrupters,  whose 
every  hospitality  has  for  its  object  an  unlawful 
usurpation  in  the  church,  an  undue  influence  over 
its  teachers,  overseers,  rulers,  &c.  Mark  him  up- 
on almost  all  occasions,  either  openly  or  slyly,  (how- 
ever he  may  profess  to  the  contrary)  sitting,  talk- 
ing, counselling,  walking  with,  caressing,  or  re- 
ceiving bribes  and  unlawful  influences  from  some 
point  of  Satan's  parti  il  compass,  to  wit,  from  let- 
ters, sweet  meats,  fine  clothes,  elegant  lodgings, 
where  the  furniture  has  more  antinomianism  en- 
signed  upon  it  than  ten  thousand  gold  rings  upon 
nice,  affected  fingers,  or  four  or  five  ruffles  or  tuck- 


184 

ers  from  the  stiff  chin  to  the  humped  shoulders, 
projecting  over  the  head,  like  the  male  pheasant  of 
the  wild  woods. 

Instead  of  forgiving  seven  times  a  day,  Luke 
xvii.  4,  "  What  (say  they)  always  sinning  and  al- 
ways repenting;"  thus  manifestly  making  an  at- 
tempt to  corrupt,  to  counterfeit  the  word  of  God, 
as  a  man  would  to  counterfeit  or  forge  a  sweet 
scenteel  tobacco  note,  by  imposing  in  its  stead  a 
hogshead  full  of  decaying  vegetables  of  the  most 
poisonous  species.  Like  Peter,  talking  and  med- 
dling, instead  of  telling  your  brother  between  thee 
and  him  alone.  Matt,  xviii.  15,  they  tell  the  rulers, 
or  without,  and  contrary  to  all  just  rule,  hurl  and 
force  them  out  by  hearsay,  partial,  envious,  mali- 
cious, revengeful,  or  ambitious  evidence  !  Instead 
of  our  Lord's  seventy  times  seven,  verse  22,  their 
patience,  their  rule  of  church  discipline  amounts  to 
only  seven  times.  In  the  place  of  our  Redeemer's 
ten  thousand  talents,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  cun- 
ces  of  silver,  or  as  Whitby  hath  it,  "  eight  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  thousand  pounds  sterling," 
these  selfish,  religious  misers  and  swindlers  have 
only  one  hundred  pence,  or  about  three  pound  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  English,  or  choke  money, 
they  imprisoning  like  him,  verse  30,  in  the  jail  of 
private  and  public  disgrace,  sin,  and  defamation  ! 

An  indictment  for  an  assault,  with  intent  to  mur- 
der the  character. 
Virginia,  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
and  for  the  body  of  the  district  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Henrico,  Hanover,  Chesterfield,  Gooch- 
land, and  Powhattan,  upon  their  oath,  present — 
That  Evil  Envious,  Mad  Malevolent,  and  High- 


185 

eyed  Haughty,  late  of  the  parish  of  Pale  Dog  in  a 
Manger,  in  the  county  of  Implacability,  supplanters, 
on  the  1st  clay  of  May,  in  the  year  1807,  with  force 
of  arms,  that  is  to  say,  of  tongues,  pens,  money, 
meats,  drinks,  washings,  lodgings,  and  friends, 
bribes,  &c.  at  the  parish  of  Cup  Evidence,  with  se- 
veral aiders  in  whispering,  which  they,  the^  said 
Evil  Envious  and  Mad  Malevolent,  in  their  influ- 
ence then  and  there  had  and  held,  in  and  upon  one 
poor,  helpless  female  beauty,  in  the  peace  of  God 
and  the  commonwealth,  then  and  there  being,  did 
make  an  assault  with  an  intent  her  the  said  Female 
Feeble  then  there,  feloniously  and  of  their  malice 
aforethought,  to  kill  and  murder,  by  black  hints  of 
secret  intrigues  between  her  the  said  nymph  and 
certain  married  men,  whose  wives  were  of  suspi- 
cious and  revengeful  families,  and  other  wrongs 
of  the  like  nature  to  the  said  dove-like,  weeping 
Mary,  then  and  there  did,  to  the  great  damage  of 
the  said  broken  hearted  and  already  emaciated  in- 
nocent, and  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Virginia,  And  the  jurors  afore- 
said, for  the  body  of  the  district  aforesaid,  compos- 
ed of  the  counties  aforesaid,  do  further  upon  their 
oath  present — That  the  said  Envious,  Malevolent, 
and  Hgheyed  Haughty,  late  of  the  parish  of  Pale 
Dog  in  a  Manger,  in  the  county  of  Sleepless  Hatred 
and  ill  will  aforesaid,  supplanters*  on  the  1st  day  of 
May,  in  the  year  1807,  and  the  year  of  slander  5811, 
with  force  and  arms  of  Satan's  pedlers  and  post  rid- 
ers  in  obloquy,  at  the  parish  afore&iid,  in  the  county 
aforesaid,  in  and  upon  one  Female  Feeble,  in  the 
peace  of  God  and  the  commonwealth,  then  and 
there  being,  did  beat,  wound,  and  ill  treat,  by  whis- 
pers, letters,  and  revilings,  so  that  her  life  was 
greatly  despaired  of,  being  intended  murder,  and 

q.2 


186 

other  wrongs,  such  as  leaving  her  brooding  over 
them,  which  hastened  and  completed  her  dissolu- 
tion, that  is  to  say,  to  the  said  nymph  then  and  there 
did,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  said  helpless  girl, 
in  time  and  eternity,  against  the  peace  and  dignity 
of  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  and  the  royal 
law  of  love. 

"  In  many  cases  where  no  malice  is  expressed, 
the  law  will  imply  it ;  as  where  a  man  wilfully  poi- 
sons another,  in  such  a  deliberate  act  the  law  pre- 
sumes malice,  though  no  particular  enmity  can  be 
proved.  And  if  a  man  kills  another  suddenly, 
without  any,  or  without  a  considerable  provoca- 
tion, the  law  implies  malice  ;  for  no  person,  unless 
of  an  abandoned  heart,  would  be  guilty  of  such  an 
act,  upon  a  slight-  or  no  apparent  cause." — 4th 
Blackstone,  p.  200. 

Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  cases  of  such 
malice  aforethought  may  be  proved  against  old 
maids  and  bachelors  against  several  married  would- 
be  ladies,  would-be  gentlemen,  would-be  Chris- 
tians, would-be  preachers,  and  millions  of  such 
murders  are  committed  of  malice  aforethought,  by 
young  unmarried  would-be  gentlen^n,  either  be- 
cause of  one  reason  or  another ;  and  hy  young 
nymphs  through  envy,  they  not  having  been  ac- 
counted so  neat,  so  learned,  so  acceptable  compa- 
nions, as  the  poor  ridiculed  girl,  the  object  of  their 
obloquy ;  but  yet,  moreover,  for  the  most  damn- 
ing sin  of  being,  and  of  having  been  generally  re- 
puted greater  beauties  than  their  whiffling,  flirting, 
cackling,  whispering,  and  haughty  traducers.,  who, 
what  they  fell  short  of  in  integrity,  wisdom,  meek- 
ness, gentleness,  and  beauty  to  her  whom  they  stab- 
bed in  the  dark,  by  every  cunning  and  keen  arti- 
fice, they  made  up  by  riggles,  sly  families,  and  other 


187 

V 

means  of  supplanting.  And  no  wonder,  when  St. 
Paul  observes  that  their  throat  is  an  open  sepul- 
chre ;  with  their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit ; 
the  poison  of  asps  is  under  their  lips  ;  their  feet  are 
swift  to  shed  blood  ;  destruction  and  misery  are  in 
their  ways.  Rom.  iii.  13,  14,  15,  16.  They  have 
sharpened  their  tongues  like  a  serpent ;  adder's  poi- 
son is  under  their  lips.  Psalm  cxl.  3.  Their  poi- 
son is  like  the  poison  of  a  serpent ;  they  are  like  the 
deaf  adder  that  stoppeth  her  ear.  Psalm  lviii.  4. 
And  they  lay  wait  for  their  own  blood ;  they  lurk 
privily  for  their  own  lives.  Prov.  i.  18.  So  that 
they  often,  by  their  slanders,  bring  on  their  own 
ruin  not  only  here,  but  it  is  to  be  lamented  that 
they  lay  a  foundation  for  their  future  and  eternal 
damnation.  We  repeat  it  again  and  again,  no  mat- 
ter how  we  murder  another,  whether  by  the  tongue, 
lead,  steel,  or  poison,  we  are  equally  guilty. 

An  indictment  for  malicious  stabbing  and  shoot- 
ing. 
North  Carolina  >  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  North-Ca- 
rolina, and  the  district  of  the  counties  associated 
with  Halifax,  upon  their  oath,  present — That  Sharp 
nosed  Snipebill,  Glibtongued  Hotstill,  Drumhead 
Ill-will,  Thin  lip'd  Whipperwill,  Fat  faced  Large- 
swill,  and  Sunkeyed  Siowkill,  late  of  the  parish  of 
loud  mouth  babble  and  county  of  open  sepulchre, 
slanderers  ;  on  the  7th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1808,  with  force  and  arms  at  the  said  par- 
ish and  county  as  aforesaid,  and  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  court  holden  for  the  district  aforesaid, 
in  and  upon  one  minister  of  the  Gospel  named  Run 
to  and  fro,  in  the  peace  of  God  and  the  common- 
wealth, then  and  there  being,  feloniously,  wilfully, 


183 

maliciously,  and  of  purpose,  did  make  an  assault ; 
and  that  the  said  Sharpnosed  Snipebill,  Glibtongue 
Hotstill,  Drumhead  IlUwill,  Thin  lip'd  YVhipper- 
will,  Fatfaced  Bigs  will,  and  Sunkeyed  Slowkill, 
with  a  certain  gun  called  truth,  (though  a  lie 
against  revealed  truth)  loaded  with  hot  shot,  made 
up  of  envy,  cunning,  guile,  pride,  bigotry,  whis- 
pering, malice,  railing,  revenge,  brawling,  and  am- 
bition, which  said  slandering  gun  they  the  said 
ragamuffins  in  their  right  hands  then  and  there  had 
and  held  to,  against  and  upon  the  said  preacher  of 
peace,  righteousness,  and  Christian  forbearance, 
then  and  there  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  malicious- 
ly, and  of  purpose,  did  shoot  and  discharge ;  and 
that  the  said  ill  bred,  slowjaw'd  backbiters,  with 
red  hot  slanderous  shot  aforesaid,  out  of  the  gun 
aforesaid,  then  and  there,  by  force  of  the  malevo- 
lent gunpowder  aforesaid,  whispering  and  sly,  ma- 
licious shot  sent  forth  as  aforesaid,  the  aforesaid 
Gospel  minister,  in  and  upon  his  person,  property, 
and  character  of  him  the  said  Gospel  minister,  with 
the  shot  aforesaid,  by  force  of  the  gunpowder 
aforesaid,  out  of  their  slandering  guns  aforesaid,  by 
the  said  selfish  maligners,  (the  gun  kicking  them 
after  the  shot )  one  or  two  of  whom  were  preachers 
ot  his  own  fold,  so,  as  aforesaid,  shot  sent  forth  pri- 
vately, slyly,  and  discharged  feloniously,  wilfully, 
maliciously,  and  of  purpose,  did  shoot,  strike,  pen- 
etrate and  wound  the  feelings,  the  character,  the 
talents,  the  health.  And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  up- 
on their  oath  aforesaid,  do  present — That  the  said 
pulpit,  press,  cup,  glass,  weeping,  nodding,  peep- 
ing, angie  eyed,  tossing  footed,  high  eyed  whis- 
perers, then  and  there  with  a  certain  bayonet,  made 
up  of  razors,  rasps,  two  edged  swords,  barbed  ar- 
rows dipped  m  poison,  gall,  and  wormwood,  and  a 


189 

heart  of  adamant,  which  said  deadly  bayonet  was 
fixed  by  implacability  to  the  said  slandering  gun, 
which  they  the  said  lords  over  God's  heritage,  up- 
start lady  chatter,  a  few  altarscrapers,  some  cup 
and  wine  gabblers,  with  a  host  of  scornful  Sabbath 
breakers,  oppressors,  shavers,  fops,  butterflies, 
cranes,  bull  dogs,  and  little  snarlers,  in  their  right 
hand  then  and  there  held,  in  and  upon  the  right 
side  of  him  the  said  Gospel  minister,  (they  smiling 
and  stabbing)  then  and  there  feloniously,  mali- 
ciously, wilfully,  and  of  slandering  purpose,  did 
strike  and  stab,  with  an  intent  by  the  said  libellous, 
backbiting,  shooting,  and  stabbing  aforesaid,  the 
said  minister  of  the  Gospel  to  maim  in  character, 
disfigure  in  society,  disable  to  do  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  or  kill,  against  the  form  of  the  act  of  the 
general  assembly,  in  such  case  made  and  provid- 
ed, and  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  North  Carolina,  and  the  whole  church 
of  God. 

One  faithful  runner  to  and  fro,  is  worth  three 
who  fight  negroes,  cheat,  and  shine  in  domestic 
grandeur,  Dan.  xii.  4.  A  minister  of  the  Lord 
who  is  gentle  unto  all  men,  free  from  selfish,  pros- 
elyting, ill  tempered  zeal,  is  apt  to  be  persecuted 
by  all  who  envy  his  character  for  patience  and 
meekness,  the  overbearing  and  insultingly  bigot- 
ed, hard,  selfish  stiff  heads  of  all  parties,  hold  pri- 
vate whispering  councils,  exparte  upon  him,  and 
according  to  their  usual,  double  mindedness,  smile 
and  stab  under  the  partial  influence  of  sectarian 
conclave,  now  and  then  riding  as  the  devil's  ped- 
lers,  postriders,  and  letter  writers,  libelling  and 
orally  slandering  him  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
good  of  the  church,  if  you  will  believe  them — 
which  being  a  deviation  from  that  charity  which 


190 

covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,  1  Peter  iv.  8,  and 
the  all  therefore  of  our  Lord,  Matt.  vii.  12,  is  conse- 
quently a  violation  of  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and 
amounts  to  hating  our  brother,  which  is  accounted 
murder.  1  John  iii.  15.  Upon  the  other  hand, 
when  he  firmly,  like  a  man  and  a  Christian,  sup- 
ports his  own  tenets  rationally,  cooly,  steadily,  and 
with  effect ;  the  bigots  of  the  opposite  opinion  lay 
wait  for  his  soul,  like  the  devil,  their  father,  they 
are  grieved  at  the  force  of  truths  which  they  wish 
were  lies,  they  mock  him  as  he  preaches,  slight 
him  as  he  passes,  slander  him  as  he  travels  to  and 
fro  to  spread  knowledge,  circulate  what  they  hear 
against  him,  multiply  and  magnify  all  the  weak- 
nesses they  know  of  him,  contrary  to  Solomon's  ad- 
vice. Love  covereth  all  sins,  Prov>  x.  12 ;  and  St. 
Paul,  Speak  evil  of  no  man.  Titus  iii.  2.  In  short, 
slander,  malice,  and  murder  aforethought,  are  the 
genuine  offspring  of  the  monopolizing  zeal  of  reli- 
gious bigots,  and  none  more  ready  to  lead  the  van 
than  a  thin  headed,  stamping,  staring,,  rocking, 
clapping,  thumping,  white  eyed  babbler,  who, 
what  he  wants  in  ministerial  qualifications,  he 
makes  up  in  peeps,  puns,  sarcasms,  grins,  turning 
up  the  white  of  his  eyes,  sly  letters,  calling  his  an- 
tagonists Pharisees,  if  a  Calvinistic  thunderer ; 
Antinomians,  if  a  loud  Armenian  bawler ;  heritics, 
if  a  Catholic  ;  and  Popish  idolators,  if  a  rigid  Pro- 
testant. Great  God,  save  us  from  the  appalling, 
murdering,  secret  inquisitions,  and  public  detrac- 
tions of  an  innumerable  groupe  of  religious  assas- 
sins, whose  souls  are  inflated  with  storms  and  hur- 
ricanes, raised  by  the  intemperate  zones  of  the  de- 
vil's two  poles,  religious  frigidity  and  hell  fire 
zeal,  producing  the  cold  plague  of  the  frozen  zone 
of  the  north,  blowing  from  the  rough  boreas  of  ha- 


191 

trcd,  paved  and  pointed  with  the  icy  gangrene  of 
implacability,  and  the  vertical  rays  of  their  all  des- 
troying fire  of  discord,  turning  over  our  fruitful 
Eden  into  a  desolate  wilderness,  cursed  with  ste- 
rility, like  the  mountains  of  Gilboa  and  the  miry 
and  marshy  places  of  Ezekiel,  which  are  given  up 
to  salt.  Ezek:  xlvii.  11.  But  we  can  expect  no 
quarters  from  a  host  of  haughty,  highflying,  scof- 
fing infidels,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  2  Peter 
iii.  3,  4,  called  mockers,  Jude  xviii ;  men  who  stu- 
dy and  teach  the  doctrines  of  Voltaire,  Volney, 
\Veishaup,  D'Alembert,  Diddero,  Godwin,  Gib- 
bon, and  Hume  ;  when  these,  we  say,  are  read  and 
taught  by  those  modern  imitators,  we  are  come  to 
St.  Paul's  last  days,  2  Tim.  iii.  wherein  perilous 
times  should  come,  when  men  should  be  heady, 
high  minded,  and  deny  the  power  of  Godliness,  op- 
posing and  persecuting,  publicly  and  privately, 
any,  and  every  religion  not  answerable  to  their  un- 
believing opinions,  who,  playing  off  one  religious 
society  against  another,  turn  every  man's  sword 
against  his  feliow,  or  set  all  other  societies  who  are 
under  their  influence,  against  highway  and  hedge 
meetings. 

Indictment  for  robbery. 
Virginia,  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
and  for  the  church  of  God.  composed  of  honest 
men,  weighing  crimes  according  to  their  evil  in- 
tentions and  effects,  upon  their  oath,  present — That 
John  Hellfire,  late  of  the  parish  of  selfishness  and 
injustice,  in  the  county  of  Manstealing,  whisperer  ; 
on  the  spur  of  every  favorable  opportunity,  with 
force  and  arms  of  defamation,  at  the  parish  afore- 
said, in  the  said  county  of  Manstealing,  in  the  cha- 


192 

racter  or  every  individual  there  situate,  within  the 
fangs  of  his  consuming  tongue,  and  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  this  commonwealth,  holden  for  the 
punishment  of  crimes  (according  to  their  magni- 
tude) in  and  upon  the  said  every  character  within 
his  defamatory  reach,  in  the  peace  of  God  and  the 
said  commonwealth,  then  and  there  being,  feloni- 
ously did  make  an  assault  by  the  tongue  to  rob  the 
character  of  her,  one  of  the  said  number,  in  bodily 
fear  and  danger  of  her  life,  in  the  said  dwelling 
house,  her  character  having  been  robbed  by  said 
slanderer,  who  did  then  and  there  feloniously  put, 
and  one  person  whose  good  name  contained  more 
value  than  twenty  chests  of  gold,  of  the  stuff  named 
in  indictments,  called  goods  and  chattels,  of  the 
said  invaluable  good  name  from  the  person,  and 
against  the  will  of  the  said  invaluable  character  in 
the  soul  of  the  aforesaid,  then  and  there  violently, 
silently,  slyly,  and  feloniously  did  steal,  take,  and 
carry  away  the  character,  more  valuable  than  twen- 
ty horses,  against  the  form  of  the  eighth  command- 
ment of  the  commonwealth  of  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven, in  such  case  made  and  provided,  and  against 
tht  peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Virginia  and  the  royal  law  of  God. 

"  In  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  crimi- 
nal law,  (saith  Judge  Blackstone)  ought  also  to  be 
the  care  and  attention  of  the  legislature  in  properly 
forming  and  enforcing  it.  It  should  be  founded 
upon  principles  that  are  permanent,  uniform,  and 
universal,  and  always  conformable  to  the  dictates 
of  truth  and  justice,  the  feelings  of  humanity,  and 
the  indelible  rights  of  mankind." — 4th  Blackstone, 
p.  2,3. 

Give  the  application  of  these  permanent,  uni- 
form^ universal,  true,  just,  feeling,  humane,  and 


193 

indelible  principles  their  full  force,  and  the  charac- 
ter breaker  will  be  found  guilty  of  ten  fold  more 
punishment  than  a  house  breaker — in  the  propor- 
tion as  a  man  thief  inflicts  more  private  injury  up- 
on an  individual  young  widow,  than  a  house  thief. 
"  A  crime,  or  misdemeanor,  is  an  act  commit- 
ted or  omitted  in  violation  of  public  law,  either  for- 
bidding or  commanding  it.  Crime  is  made  to  denote 
such  offences  as  are  of  a  deeper  and  more  atrocious 
dye ;  while  smaller  faults  and  omissions,  of  less 
consequence,  are  comprised  under  the  gentler  name 
of  '  misdemeanors  only.'     In  all  cases,  the  crime 
includes  an  injury  :  every  public  offence  is  also  a 
private  wrong  ;  it  affects  the  individual,  and  it  like- 
wise affects  the  community.     Thus  murder  is  an 
inj  ury  to  the  life  of  an  individual ;  but  the  law  of 
society  considers  principally  the  loss  which  the 
state  sustains  by  being  deprived  of  a  member,  and 
the  pernicious  example  thereby  set  for  others  to 
do  the  like.     Robbery  may  be  considered  in  the 
same  view — it  is  an  injury  to  private  property  ; 
but  were  that  all,  a  civil  satisfaction  for  damages 
might  atone  for  it ;  the  public  mischief  is  the  thing, 
for  the  prevention  of  which  our  laws  have  made  it 
a  capital  offence.     In  these  gross  and  atrocious  in- 
juries,  the  private  wrong  is  swallowed  up  in  the 
public." — 4th  Blackstone,  p.  5,  6. 

Here  we  may  note  four  things — First,  crimes  ; 
second,  misdemeanors ;  thirdly,  private  injuries ; 
and  fourthly,  public.  First,  crimes  of  the  deep 
atrocious  dye,  of  secret  spleen,  envy,  hatred,  ma- 
lice, guile,  and  revenge,  letting  loose  tongues  and 
pens  set  on  fire  of  hell,  feloniously,  wilfully,  and  of 
malice  aforethought,  are  styled  murder  bv  St. 
John;  horsestealing,  housebreaking,  and  house 
burning  are  but  misdemeanors,  when  put  in  com- 

R 


194 

petition  therewith — especially  when  practised  upon 
a  poor,  handsome,  young  widow,  or  an  old,  straight 
upright,  well-bred,  delicate,  or  friendless  old  maid. 
The  injuries  accruing  in  such  cases  are  loss  of  so- 
ciety, of  a  husband,  happiness,  fortune,  appetite, 
life,  and,  we  have  no  doubt,  the  loss  of  life  eternal 
in  many  instances ;  and,  as  a  public  offence,  it  is 
styled  treason  by  Blackstone.  "  In  all  cases,  (saith 
he)  the  crime  includes  an  injury  ;  Thus  treason, 
in  imagining  the  king's  death,  (here  we  say  the 
death  of  the  chief  magistrate)  involves  in  it  con- 
spiracy against  an  individual,  which  is  also  a  civil 
injury  ;  but  as  this  species  of  treason  in  its  conse- 
quences principally  tends  to  the  dissolution  of  go- 
vernment, and  the  destruction  thereby  of  the  order 
and  peace  of  society  ;  this  denominates  it  a  crime 
of  the  highest  magnitude. — 4th  Blackstone,  p.  5, 6. 
And  all  this  villainy  may  be  perpetrated  by  a 
L-o-r-d  p-i-t-y  t-h-e-m,  (every  word  three  feet 
long)  they  are  the  worst  foes  to  themselves,  turning 
up  their  devout,  slandering  eyes  to  fifty  degrees 
above  blood  heat,  and  below  frozen  cold,  like  a 
garrison  firing  a  salute  in  honor  of  a  razee  or  an  old 
first  rate  coming  into  port  from  their  last  cruise, 
and  putting  in  a  fifty -four  between  wind  and  wa- 
ter, Rickasha  fashion. 

What  a  legal  and  physical  blessing  is  it  to  soci- 
ety that  lawyers  and  doctors  are  not  backbiters. 
And  what  a  shame,  blame,  and  curse  is  it  when 
ministers,  magistrates,  or  politicians  are  slanderers. 

Indictment  for  murder,  committed  by  shooting. 
Virginia,  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
and  for  the  district  composed  of  the  counties  of  O, 
&c.  upon  their  oath  present — That  Moll  Malevo- 


195 

lent  and  Purseproud  Pratter,  late  of  the  parish  of 
Hue  and  cry,  in  the  county  of  report  and  we  will 
also  report  it  again,  murderers  ;  not  having  the  fear 
of  God  before  their  eyes,  but  being  moved  and  se- 
duced by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  the  father  of 
lies,  malice,  envy,  and  revenge,  on  the  16th  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1803,  with  force  of 
tongues  and  pens,  at  the  parish  of  Hue  and  cry 
and  county  of  report  and  we  will  report  it  again 
aforesaid,  (and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court 
holden  for  the  district  aforesaid)  in  and  upon  one 
peaceable,  public  spirit,  in  the  peace  of  God,  and 
of  the  said  commonwealth,  then  and  there  being, 
feloniously,  wilfully,  deliberately,  premeditatedly, 
and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  did  make  an  as- 
sault ;  and  that  they  the  said  Moll  Malevolent  and 
Purseproud  Pratter,  a  certain  gun  of  the  value  of 
indefinite  and  irreparable  ruin,  then  and  there  load- 
ed and  charged  with  suspicion,  slander,  calumny, 
defamation,  malice,  envy,  hatred,  anger,  cunning, 
and  obloquy,  and  a  destructive  kind  of  langrage, 
double  headed  round  shot  and  grape,  called  gen- 
tlemen and  ladies'  news,  preceded  by  a  hell  fire 
volley  of  rockets,  called  it  is  true,  I  tell  you  the 
truth,  I  have  it  from  a  source  to  be  relied  upon, 
write,  print,  publish  the  rascal,  said  they  ;  which 
gun  they  the  said  Moll  Malevolent  and  Purseproud 
Pratter  in  their  right  hands,  then  and  there  and 
every  where  had  and  held  to.  against,  and  upon  the 
said  peaceable  public  spirit,  ruining  his  character, 
a  jewel  which  he  almost  starved  himself  to  obtain 
and  preserve,  then  and  there  feloniously,  wilfully, 
deliberately,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  did 
shoot,  discharge,  and  send  forth  a  destructive  load 
of  rancor  ;  and  that  the  said  Moll  Malevolent  and 
Purseproud  Pratter,  with  slandering  lead  of  ma- 


196 

lice  and  backbiting  as  aforesaid,  the  aforesaid 
peaceable  public  spirit,  in  and  upon  the  person,  pro- 
perty, character,  life,  and  soul  of  him  the  said  in- 
nocent  man  (as  though  they  had  shot  him  in  the 
neqk)  then  and  there,  and  every  where,  with  the 
worse  than  leaden  shot  of  destructive  and  all  de- 
vouring slander,  out  of  the  whispering  gun  falsely 
called  truth  as  aforesaid,  by  the  said  slanderers  in  and 
out  of  the  sanctuary,  shot  off,  discharged,  and  sent 
forth  feloniously,  wilfully,  deliberately,  premedi- 
tatedly,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought,  did  strike 
with  pens  and  tongues,  penetrate  and  wound  the 
character,  giving  to  the  said  stranger,  fatherless,  or 
widow,  then,  there,  and  every  where  with  the  lead- 
en shot  of  sly,  cunningly  devised  slander  aforesaid, 
so  as  aforesaid  calumniating,  shot,  discharged,  and 
sent  forth  out  of  the  slandering  guns  aforesaid,  by 
the  said  would-be  called  ladies,  gentlemen,  honest 
ladies,  gentlemen,  christians,  &c.  in  and  upon 
thousands  of  persons  who  have  received  such  mor- 
tal wounds  that  some  have  instantly  died,  others 
were  put  to  death  privately  or  publicly,  as  the  ef- 
fects of  evil  reports  could  operate  in  the  commu- 
nities of  which  they  were  members;  some  were 
shot  publicly,  others  hanged  for  treason,  murder, 
&x.  all  being  innocent ;  others  dwindled  away  with 
grief,  sorrow,  and  loss  of  appetite  ,  many  were  dri- 
ven into  lunacies,  others  to  the  rope,  to  the  pistol, 
to  the  pond,  the  ratsbane,  the  laudanum,  and  all 
died,  slowly  or  instantly  ;  matches  were  broken  up, 
wife  and  husband  parted,  and  merchants  broke. 
And  so  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  afore- 
said, do  say,  in  the  true  language  of  justice,  that 
the  said  slanderers,  them  the  said  in  manner  and 
form  aforesaid,  feloniously,  wilfully,  deliberately, 
premeditated ly,  and  of  their  malice  aforethought, 


197 

did  kill  and  murder  against  the  form  of  the  spirit 
of  the  act  of  the  general  government  of  equal  jus- 
tice, in  such  cases  to  be  made  and  provided  by  yet 
future  legislatures,  when  slanderers  shall  be  tried 
as  murderers,  manthieves,  &c.  &c.  as  offending 
equally  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  Virginia,  as  murderers,  manstealers, 
and  lordly  novices. 

Many  prophets  and  wise  men  have  been  ruined 
by  the  hellish  artillery  of  public  and  private  slan- 
der, through  envy  and  gain  ;  and  also  thousands  of 
brave  patriots. 

"  Agis,  one  of  the  kings  of  Sparta,  who  was 
not  twenty  years  old,  who  reigned  jointly  with 
Leonidas,  wishing  to  restore  the  laws  of  Lycurgus, 
was  seized  by  the  ephori,  by  slanderous  informers, 
condemned  and  executed.  Theramenes  suffered 
death  by  the  juice  of  the  hemlock,  by  means  of 
slander,  for  opposing  the  tyranny  established  by 
Lysander,  of  the  thirty  tyrants  of  Athens.  Archi- 
lochus,  who  was  born  in  the  island  of  Paros,  about 
the  29th  olympiad,  to  whom  the  invention  of  Iam- 
bic verse  is,  though  very  unjustly,  attributed,  it 
being  of  a  much  more  ancient  date.  Lycambes 
having  refused  to  give  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage, according  to  his  promise,  Archilochus  wrote 
such  keen  and  bitter  invectives  against  him,  that 
both  the  father  and  daughter  hung  themselves  by 
the  effects  of  calumny.  Cleomenes,  who  possess- 
ed great  spirit  and  abilities,  who  conquered  the 
Archaens,  who  were  very  strong  and  powerful,  and 
who  carried  their  victorious  arms  over  the  Pelo- 
ponnesus, Was  suspected  by  Philopater,  the  reign- 
ing king  of  Egypt,  and  taken  into  custody,  by 
means  of  slander  ;  escaping  from  this  confinement, 
and  wandering  up  and  down  in  Alexandria,  he,  in 

r  2 


198 

despair,  slew  himself  in  the  third  year  of  his  escape 
from  the  battle  of  Selasia.  When  the  great  Epa- 
minondas,  who  was  a  descendant  of  the  kings  of 
Boetia,  was  about  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  envy 
of  his  enemies,  (who  were  blown  up  by  slanders 
into  a  flame)  although  he  deserved  crowns  for  his 
services,  before  his  death  he  said — "  Permit  me  to 
make  one  prayer.  Let  posterity,  in  learning  my 
punishment,  learn  also  the  cause.  I  die  for  having 
successfully  conducted  you  into  Laconia,  where 
no  enemy  had  power  to  penetrate  before.  I  die  for 
having  carried  into  their  cities  and  countries  that 
desoiation  which  your  army  only  then  first  knew 
how  to  spread.  I  die  for  having  re-established  the 
Messinians,  re-united  the  Arcadians,  and  ruined 
the  Lacedemonians.  I  die,  in  a  word,  for  your 
victories,  for  your  conquests,  and  for  having  in- 
creased your  power  and  extended  your  dominion. 
Behold  the  crimes  for  which  I  am  condemned.  I 
regret  not  the  loss  of  life,  provided  you  leave  me 
only  the  glory  of  my  actions,  by  consecrating  to 
posterity  a  monument  that  shall  acknowledge  these 
deeds  were  done  by  me  without  your  permission. 
All  his  judges  remained  silent  and  confused,  as 
cowardly  railers,  while  Epaminondas  went  from 
this  tribunal,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  go  from 
combat,  covered  with  glory  and  universal  ap- 
plause. Socrates  fell  a  sacrifice  to  envy  and  slan- 
der, having  more  virtue,  candor,  and  honesty  than 
Athens  could  bear."  But,  like  other  imprudent, 
slandering,  pulpit,  press,  wine,  and  tea  mansteal- 
ers  and  murderers  of  property,  person,  character, 
and  soul,  in  time  and  in  eternity,  they  repented 
too  late ! ! 

Indictment  for  stealing  the  character  of  two  lov- 
ers, which  felony  was  worse  than  that  of  five  thou- 


199 

sand  sheep  thieves.     How  like  sheep-killing  dogs 
they  look,  with  wool  and  blood  upon  their  mouths. 
Virginia,  fourth  judicial  circuit,  Henrico  county, 
to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
duly  summoned  to  attend  the  superior  court  of 
law  directed  to  be  holden  for  the  said  county  of 
Henrico,  being  one  of  the  counties  composing  the 
fourth  judicial  circuit  aforesaid,  upon  their  oaths 
present — That  Laughing  Twitterer  andSlowjawed 
Glutton,  late  of  the  parish  of  Talking  families,  in 
the  county  of  Secret  spleen,  slanderers,  on  the  17th 
day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1808, 
with  force  and  tongues  at  the  parish  aforesaid,  in 
the  county  aforesaid,  [and  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  this  court,  holden  in  the  said  county  and  said 
circuit  for  the  county  aforesaid]  two  beautiful  and 
unsuspecting,  true  hearted,  juvenile  lovers,  named 
Tom  Trueheart  and  Prisciila  Pureheart,  of  the 
goods  and  chattels  of  Freeborn  Faithful,  Rebecca 
Religious,  Isaac  Industrious,  and  Catharine  Con- 
tentment, all  of  whom  were  united ;  and  that  the 
said  slanderers,  then  and  there  found,  feloniously 
did  steal,  take,  and  carry  away  the  characters  of 
the  said  newly-to-be- married  couple,  producing 
thereby  a  general  load  of  distress  to  all  parties,  but 
especially  to  the  said  juvenile  disappointed  lovers, 
by  breaking  up  the  match  and  all  confidence  in 
each  other  for  ever,  against  the  form  of  the  act  of 
the  general  assembly,  and  the  "  all  therefore"  of 
our  Lord's  royal  law  of  working  no  ill  to  our 
neighbour,  in  such  case  made  and  provided,  and 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth 
of  Virginia,  and  of  Israel. 

What  have  you  got  to  answer  to  the  aforesaid 
indictment  ?    A  woman  once  told  her  husband  af. 


200 

ter  marriage,  that  a  preacher  of  another  society  ve- 
hemently pressed  and  poisoned  her  mind  against 
him  before  marriage ;  for  which,  the  husband,  be- 
ing also  a  preacher,  returned  to  the  aforesaid  de- 
vil's pedler,  the  most  unwavering  kindness,  and 
conquered  him  by  love.  Thousands  and  millions 
of  unhappy  lovers  are  at  this  moment  wringing 
their  hands,  and  tearing  their  hair  through  grief^ 
and  worn  down  by  lamentation,  weeping,  and 
great  mourning,  dying  under  the  poisonous  con- 
sequences of  meddling  parents  and  relations,  con- 
nections and  neighbours,  hypocritical  friends,  pri- 
vate and  public  foes,  and  by  the  introduction  of 
the  devil's  nest  egg  of  slander,  hatched  by  his 
whispering  cup  bearers  and  swillers. 

Indictment  for  aiding  and  abetting  whisperers, 
in  stealing  the  affections  of  man  and  wife  from  each 
other — a  thing  too  common,  say  you. 
Virginia,  fourth  judicial  district,  H.  county,  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
duly  summoned  to  attend  the  superior  court  of 
law,  directed  to  be  holden  for  the  said  county  of 
H.  being  one  of  the  counties  composing  the  fourth 
judicial  district  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  present 
— ThatMr.  Movinghogshead  Hardheart,  old  Miss- 
es Quiver  Slingdart,  Misses  Thinlip'd  Looktart, 
young  Mr.  Looksmart,  and  Miss  Rainbow  co- 
qutte  Doubleheart,  late  of  the  parish  of  Skipping, 
sipping,  brawling,  and  whipping,  and  in  the  county 
of  Dress  and  cackling,  devil's  pedlers,  on  the  17th 
day  of  November,  1808,  with  whispering,  laugh- 
ing, and  backbiting  force  and  arms,  at  the  parish 
aforesaid,  in  the  county  of  Dress  and  cackling 
aforesaid,  (and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court, 
holden  in  the  said  county  and  said  circuit  for  the 


201 

county  aforesaid)  a  man  and  his  wife,  named  Union 
For  life,  both  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  each 
other,  then  and  there  found  by  said  slanderers,  who 
feloniously  did  steal  their  hearts  by  whispering  and 
obloquy,  take  and  carry  away  all  their  conjugal 
comforts,  creating  gall,  wormwood,  and  death 
among  their  children  and  all  their  connections,  and 
all  this  under  the  devilish  pretence  of  church  dis- 
cipline, and  telling  the  truth  for  God's  sake,  al- 
though a  barefaced  lie  against  divine  truth,  which 
commands  us  to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins,  and  to 
be  peace  makers,  which  said  conduct  is  against  the 
form  of  the  act  of  the  general  assembly,  which  for- 
bids man  and  wife  to  be  brought  in  evidence 
against  each  other,  in  such  cases  made  and  provid- 
ed, against  the  whole  tenor  of  scripture,  and  against 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth  oi  Vir- 
ginia, and  all  well  regulated  governments.  And 
the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  aforesaid,  do 
further  present — That  several  skipping,  brawling, 
tart,  smart,  gluttonous,  wine  drinking,  tea  cack- 
ling, and  religious  calumniators,  late  of  the  parish 
aforesaid,  in  the  said  county  of  whispering  and  de- 
vil's pedling,  on  the  said  17th  of  November,  1808, 
at  the  parish  aforesaid,  in  the  said  county  of  hell- 
fire  defamation,  (and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this 
court  holden  as  aforesaid)  feloniously  were  pre- 
sent, aiding  by  whispers,  and  abetting  by  approv- 
ing smiles,  forbidding  frowns,  sly,  insinuating,  and 
insidious  artifices,  and  assisting  the  said  first  mov- 
ers of  family  divisions,  in  and  out  of  the  churches 
in  feloniously  stealing  and  carrying  away  the  lov- 
ing couple's  affections  from  each  other,  against  the 
form  and  spirit  of  all  well  regulated  governments, 
but  especially  the  general  assembly;  in  such  cases 
made  and  provided,  and  against  the  peace  and  dig- 


202 

nity  of  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  and  of  the 
church  of  God. 

Immediately  after  the  happy  consummation  of  a 
marriage,  a  brother-in-law  told  the  bride,  "  now 
had  you  married  a  farmer,  how  much  better  would 
you  have  been  off;"  thus  beginning  early  under 
the  hypocritical  guise  of  pity.  An  empty  meddler, 
who  had  increased  his  fortune  by  marriage  and  ex- 
tortion, informed  an  old,  selfish,  slandering  lady 
that  she  had  injured  her  reputation  by  hiding  her 
husband's  faults  ;  of  which  saying  the  wife,  through 
triumphant  revenge,  told  her  husband,  (being  off 
her  guard) ;  thus  laying  a  foundation  for  perpetual 
enmity.  The  husband  had  to  stoop,  and  by  stoop- 
ing conquered  himself  and  his  enemies.  A  thought- 
less young  woman  being  much  abused  by  a  mar- 
ried lady  of  low,  high,  hot  blood,  took  revenge  by 
telling  her,  in  the  presence  of  her  husband,  you 
walked  privately  through  the  old  field  pines  with 
;  to  which  the  husband  giving  ear,  im- 
mediately produced  a  quarrel.  Such  girls  have  no 
title  to  a  husband,  but  rather  to  a  workhouse.  An 
old  Jezebel,  who  had  a  daughter  married  to  a  man 
of  affluence,  persuaded  her  not  to  make  his  clothes  ; 
of  which,  when  he  complained,  she,  the  arch  dae- 
mon, advised  her  daughter  to  elope  from  her  hus- 
band and  sue  for  a  separate  maintainance,  which 
advice  she  followed  ;  but  the  husband  having  van- 
quished her  in  the  law  suit,  she  not  being  able  to 
obtain  her  revenge,  came  home  again  to  him,  who 
received  her  kindly — he  being  convinced  of  the 
unlawful  interference  of  the  old  sly  lady.  There 
was  a  witch  of  Endor  plot  !  A  young  gentleman 
just  wedded  to  a  pure  girl,  took  a  long  voyage  to 
sea,  leaving  her  to  board  with  a  lady  who  kept  a 
public  house,  with  an  injunction  to  watch  her,  (he 


203 

being  of  a  jealous  disposition  ;)  in.  less  than  a  year 
be  returned,  met,  caressed,  and  kissed  his  dear 
wife  and  little  son ;  then  stepping  into  a  room  with 
the  landlady  to  inquire  of  the  manners  of  his  wife 
during  his  absence,  she  told  him  that  she  had  kept 
much  noise  and  company  in  her  house  since  he 
had  been  gone.  The  moment  he  received  the 
contents  of  her  abominable  budget,  he  departed  in 
silent,  disappointed  distraction  ;  and  being  a  man 
of  pity,  education,  family,  and  fortune,  determined 
"  not  to  make  his  wife  a  public  example."  The 
poor  slandered,  forsaken  innocent  sunk  under  the 
load,  and  (like  many  others)  fell  into  a  consump- 
tion, communicated  it  to  her  infant,  first  born  to 
sorrow  ;  when  she  found  her  soul  and  the  soul  of 
her  child  passing  the  rubicon  into  the  shades  of 
eternity,  she  wrote  to  her  jealous,  disappointed, 
credulous,  flying,  heart  broken  husband,  at  his  fa- 
ther's, (who  also  excited  his  jealousy)  to  come  and 
receive,  from  her  innocent,  expiring  blue  lips,  the 
last  seal  of  her  purity  ;  he  came,  poor  fellow,  (for 
he  yet  had  remaining  a  spark  of  hope,  pity,  affec- 
tion, and  forgiveness)  but  they  were  both  gone 
from  him  forever !  He  upbraided  himself,  took 
sick,  went  home,  and  died  of  grief;  thus  confirm- 
ing our  assertion,  that  slanderers  are  murderers ! 
O  yes,  we  must  all  see  and  feel  it.  How  long  ? 
We  answer,  until  the  legislature  wakes  up  to  equal 
justice. 

Indictment  for  felony,  by  robbing  a  merchant  by 
the  thousand  hands  of  slander. 
State  of  Maryland,  to  wit,  all  the  states,   to  wit9 
and  the  whole  earth,  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  common  wealth  of  Maryland, 
composed  of  the  counties  associated  with  Balti- 


204 

more,  upon  their  oath  present — That  Sam  Shop- 
lifter, Lii  Liar,  Low  Lackey  boy,  Lion  Ho  yes,  and 
Sly  Stab  and  kiss,  late  of  the  parish  of  Spiteful 
Envious,  in  the  county  of  Collusive  Desolation  and 
ward  of  Love  Money,  devil's  postriders,  on  the 
every  month  in  the  year  1807,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12, 
&c.  with  force  of  slander  and  malicious  represent- 
ation, at  the  parish  and  county  aforesaid,  the  store 
house  of  Messrs.  T.  T.  and  J.  B.  trading  under 
the  firm  of  T.  &  B.  as  merchants,  joint  auction- 
eers, and  partners,  there  situate,  did  feloniously 
break,  by  detraction  and  calumny,  in  giving  infor- 
mation of  their  scarcity  of  money,  at  a  time  when  they 
were  in  the  act  of  a  negotiation  which  would  have 
effectually  reinstated  their  original  capital,  and  aiso 
which  would  have  enabled  them  to  pay  off  with  ho- 
nor all  their  just  creditors ;  and  moreover  that  the 
aforesaid  slanderers  did  then  and  there  feloniously 
take,  by  the  aforesaid  defamations,  from  the  afore- 
said merchants  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
shipments  from  Europe,  fifty  thousand  dollars 
from  the  West- Indies,  together  with  a  loss  on 
goods  upon  hand,  sold  at  auction,  to  the  amount 
of  ten  thousand  dollars,  to  wit :  upon  corduroys, 
five  hundred  dollars ;  broadcloths,  five  hundred 
dollars  ;  salt,  one  thousand  dollars  ;  iron  and  steel, 
one  thousand  dollars  ;  and  upon  West- India  pro- 
duce, seven  thousand  dollars,  all  of  the  goods  and 
chattels,  wares  and  merchandize  of  the  said  T  Sc 
B.  then  and  there  found ;  and  moreover,  that  all 
this  horrid  slander  was  perpetrated  under  the  poor, 
pityful,  lying  excuse  of  putting  the  innocent  upon 
their  guard,  and  against  the  law  of  love,  and  the 
form  of  the  act  of  the  general  assembly  cf  the  com- 
monwealth of  Maryland,  in  such  case  made  and 
provided,  and  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the 


205 

"  All,  therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them," 
against  the  law  and  the  prophets,  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  and  the  interest  of  the  whole  earth. 

Millions  of  instances  might  be  produced  where- 
in sinking  merchants  have  been  set  afloat  by  the 
loan  of  a  few  thousand  or  hundred  dollars;  of  con- 
sequence, millions  more  might  have  been  preserv- 
ed and  retrieved  had  it  not  been  for  a  host  of  mur- 
derers, liars,  and  flatterers,  who,  under  the  pretence 
of  producing  public  and  private  good,  do  evil,  that 
is  to  say,  actually  break  thousands  to  preserve 
others  from  being  taken  in,  if  you  may  believe 
them  ;  whereas,  if  the  truth  were  known,  they  were 
moved  by  malignity,  hatred,  envy,  ambition,  and 
interest.  Listen  to  the  language,  view  the  motion, 
and  see  the  features  of  such  maligners  ;  well,  say 
they,  with  an  air  of  tossing  nosed  victory,  have  you 
heard  the  news  ?  What !  what  ?  So  you  have  not 
heard  ?  No,  not  a  word.  Why  such  and  such 
are  protested  in  bank.  Whew  !  hegh  !  hem,  broke 
then,  of  course.  I  am  glad,  haw  !  haw  !  haw  !  I 
always  suspected  him,  him,  and  him.  They  are 
rascals,  said  another,  snapping  his  face.  On  they 
go  to  spread  the  slandering  ne«rs,  meeting  now  and 
then  with  a  silent,  plodding  shaver,  all  of  whom 
are  determined  to  avail  themselves  of  all  such  mis- 
fortunes, to  overwhelm  the  unfortunate  merchants, 
and  make  their  jack,  as  they  say.  The  sinking 
sufferers  apply  for  the  loan  of  a  little  money,  they 
are  smiled  at  and  stabbed  with  a  dying  calf-eyed 
shrug,  their  property  is  exposed  to  sale,  and  sacri- 
ficed to  shaving,  relentless,  poisonous  spiders,  and 
that  too  by  men  who  owe  their  elevation  to  the  for- 
mer benevolence  of  these  sufferers;  precipitated  thus, 
from  the  pinnacle  of  commerce,  which  they  had 

S 


206 

used  as  a  trading  stock  for  God,  the'  poor  and 
their  families,  they  lingered,  languished,  and  died  ; 
and  thus  their  fortune,  happiness,  appetite,  and 
even  life  itself  (for  thousands  sink  under  it)  were 
all  forfeited  to  that  "  universal  cannibal,"  the  spirit 
and  practice  of  defamation.  "  The  wicked  boast  - 
eth  of  his  hearts  desire ;  his  mouth  is  full  of  curs- 
ing, and  deceit,  and  fraud;  under  his  tongue  is  mis- 
chief and  vanity  ;  he  sitteth  in  the  lurking  places 
of  the  villages,  in  the  secret  places  doth  he  murder 
the  innocent ;  his  eyes  are  privily  set  against  the 
poor  ;  he  lieth  in  wait  secretly  as  a  lion  in  his  den  ; 
he  lieth  in  wait  to  catch  the  poor ;  he  doth  catch 
the  poor,  when  he  draweth  him  into  his  net ;  he 
croucheth  and  humbleth  himself,  that  the  poor 
may  fall  by  his  strong  ones."  Psalm  x.  Thus 
Coriolanus,  the  bravest  defender  of  the  senate  and 
people  of  Rome,  was  banished  two  hundred  and 
sixty  years  from  the  foundation  of  the  city,  through 
the  ambition  and  slander  of  the  tribunes,  he  being 
forced  to  leave  his  all  and  take  refuge  with  Tullus 
Attius,  a  man  of  great  power  among  the  Volcians, 
who  took  him  under  his  protection,  and  espoused 
his  quarrel.  Coriolanus  ravaged  the  Roman  terri- 
tories through  revenge,  and  at  length  invested  the 
city  ;  and  when  in  this  great  exigence,  neither  the 
ambassadors,  pontiffs,  priests,  nor  augurs  could 
make  peace  for  Rome,  when  they  began  to  give  up 
the  commonwealth  as  lost,  and  the  temples  were 
filled  with  women  and  children,  who,  prostrate  be- 
fore the  altars,  put  up  their  prayers  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  country,  his  mother  Veturia  alone 
prevailed  upon  him  to  save  the  city.  So  evident 
it  is,  and  often  yet  shall  be,  that  those  whom  we 
sink  by  our  slander  are  our  merciful  saviours  in 
distress. 


207 

Indictment  for  a  trespass. 
Virginia,  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  counties  of  H,  H,  C, 
G,  &  P,  upon  their  oath,  present — That  a  certain 
brawler,  known  by  the  name  of  Puff  Porpoise,  late 
of  the  county  of  Eat  and  Drink,  for  to-morrow  we 
die,  being  an  evil  disposed  person,  on  the  2d  day 
of  April,  in  the  year  1790,  about  the  hour  of  12 
o'clock,  of  the  dark  and  black  night  of  slander,  un- 
lawfully and  violently,  without  authority,  with  force 
and  arms  of  brawling,  backbiting,  and  whispering, 
in  the  county  aforesaid,  unlawfully,  violently,  and 
without  any  legal  warrant,  either  from  God  or  man, 
whatever,  broke  into  the  character  of  one  M.  A. 
W.  then  and  there  situate,  did,  by  violence  and 
force  of  slander,  break  and  enter  into  said  charac- 
ter as  a  house  breaker  into  a  house,  with  intention 
to  disturb  his  peace,  and  the  peace  of  the  com- 
monwealth ;  and  the  said  Puff  Porpoise  so  being 
in  the  said  character  (as  a  house  robber  breaking 
through  a  house  in  the  night  to  kill  and  to  steal) 
of  the  said  M.  A.  W.  did,  then  and  there,  unlaw- 
fully, wilfully,  injuriously,  and  obstinately  remain 
for  a  long  space  of  time,  that  is  to  say,  for  the  space 
of  twenty  years,  and  more,  without  license  from 
God  or  man,  and  against  the  will  of  the  said  M. 
A.  W.  and  other  wrongs  and  injuries,  such  as  cir- 
culating vexatious  and  malicious  reports  on  the 
lightning  rod  of  public  slander,  cunningly  and  gen- 
erally, to  the  great  and  lasting  damage  of  the  said 
M.  A,  W.  then  and  there  did,  laying  a  sure  future 
foundation  for  the  present  and  eternal  destruction 
of  the  said  M.  A.  W.  of  consequence  murdering 
and  damning  him,  to  the  evil  example  of  all  others 
in  like  cases,  offending  against  mercy,  justice,  pity, 
patience,  meekness,  gentleness,  truth  and  love,  and 


208 

against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  commonwealth 
of  Virginia,  and  the  United  States. 

As  nothing  is  more  dear  to  many  than  their 
reputation,  (of  which  some  make  too  much  of  an 
idol,  naming  it  before  God,)  so  also,  in  proportion 
as  we  value  it,  ought  the  legislature,  instructed  by 
the  people,  to  punish  those  who  malignantly  and 
wantonly  break  into  it,  and  keep  in  it,  with  their 
malevolent  associates,  as  a  house  breaker,  who 
breaks  into,  makes  room  for,  and  keeps  in  a  house 
a  gang  of  robbers,  until  all  within  is  plundered, 
and  the  house  set  on  fire  and  consumed. 

As  certainly  as  the  community  of  Virginia,  and 
all  the  states,  would  not  be  content  that  it  should 
be  left  to  a  jury  without  statute  law,  whether  a 
house  breaker  and  burner  should  pay  one  hun- 
dredth part  of  the  damage,  or  nothing  at  all,  nor  be 
punished  or  not  in  the  penitentiary  ;  so  also  are  we, 
or  at  least  ought  to  be,  restless  and  importunate  irt 
our  petitions  to  an  enlightened  people,  and  an  in- 
structed legislature,  until  in  proportion  as  reputa- 
tion, happiness,  appetite,  friends,  and  heaven,  of 
which  slander  deprives  us,  are  more  valuable  than 
houses  ;  and  slander  breaking  in  upon  and  con- 
suming reputation  infinitely  more  criminal  than 
house  robbers  breaking  and  burning  houses ;  so, 
also,  should  the  slanderer  be  sentenced  to  a  pro- 
portionable continuance  in  the  penitentiary  at  hard 
labor  ;  for  you  may  calculate  the  loss  of  goods  and 
chattels,  but  not  of  reputation/ which  is  incalcu- 
lable, which  is  eternal !  We  only  plead  for  an 
equal  distribution  of  justice,  which,  as  a  mill  stone, 
grinds  level,  square,  and  fine,  from  the  principal 
and  centre,  to  the  periphery.  "  In  proportion  to 
the  criminal  law,  ought  also  to  be  the  care  and  at- 
tention of  the  legislature  in  properly  forming  and 
enforcing  it."     Can  there   be  said  to  be  a  "pro- 


209 

portion  in  the  criminal  law,"  (as  we  have  quoted 
from  Black  stone)  when  a  sod  wall  house  contain- 
ing only  a  pot,  a  poor  bed,  a  bushel  of  patatoes, 
&c.  being  robbed,  demands  the  penitentiary  for 
years,  when  the  breaking  in  upon  the  only  "  one 
ewe  lamb"  of  dear  earned  "  good  name,"  may  be 
unjustly  decided  by  a  half  drunken,  half  informed, 
and  packed  jury,  resulting  to  the  poor,  helpless 
girl,  stranger,  fatherless,  or  weak  widow,  in  an  ac- 
cumulated distress?  Justice  should  be  "  uniform 
and  universal ;"  (saith  Blackstone)  in  the  name  of 
uniformity  and  universal  justice,  why  are  house 
breakers  punished  in  the  penitentiary  for  the  value 
of  a  hundred  dollars,  when  breakers  in  upon  repu- 
tation to  the  amount  of  the  loss  of  happiness,  name, 
appetite,  life,  and  heaven,  are  promoted  to  offices 
of  profit,  trust,  and  honor  ? 

Indictment  for  an  assault  by  the  hell  fire  of 
tongues  and  pens. 

Virginia,  to  rvit,  all  the  states,  the  church,  and  the 
whole  world,  to  wit  : 

The  jurors  for  the  district  composed  for  the 
peace  and  safety  of  civil  and  religious  society,  all 
over  the  four  continents,  upon  their  oath  present — 
That  a  host  of  rattle  sculPd,  rattlesnake  revilers, 
late  of  the  parish  of  Tossing  nosed  impudence,  in 
the  county  of  Clitter  clatter  and  Hot  cup  water 
babble,  on  every  lawless  opportunity,  that  is  to 
say ,  at  all  times  and  places,  with  force  and  arms  of 
every  kind  of  slander,  written,  oral,  and  caricature, 
at  the  parish  and  county  aforesaid,  and  within  the  ju- 
risdiction of  those  legislators  and  church  governors, 
who  have  not  taken  cognizance  of  such  villainies, 
in  and  upon  millions  of  persons  and  characters,  of 
ail  sizes,  ages,  and  occupations,  in  the  peace  of  God 


210 

and  the  civil  and  religious  communities  aforesaid, 
then  and  there  being,  did  make  backbiting  and 
railing  assaults,  and  them,  the  said  millions  of  poor, 
rich,  bond  and  free,  the  said  every  body  did  then 
and  there  beat,  wound,  and  ill  treat,  with  tongues, 
pens,  shrugs,  nods,  winks,  and  slandering  prayers, 
so  that  men,  women,  boys,  and  girls,  being  stirred 
up  against  those  who  were  slandered,  did  way  lay 
and  shoot,  kick  and  thump,  switch  and  cow  hide, 
stab  and  poison,  in  such  a  manner,  that  their  lives 
were  greatly  despaired  of,  and  of  which  millions 
lost  their  precious  lives,  and  other  wrongs  to  the 
said  sufferers,  such  as  the  loss  of  friends,  appetite, 
fortune,  and  business,  producing  starvation  to  them 
and  families,  then  and  there  did,  to  the  great  and 
eternal  damage  of  the  souls,  bodies,  and  reputa- 
tions of  the  said  every  person  within  the  fangs  of 
their  slandering  reach,  and  against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  church  and  state,  throughout  Asia,  Af- 
rica, Europe,  and  America. 

In  proof  of  this  indictment,  many  historical  and 
biographical  sketches  might  be  adduced.  "  The 
great  Camillus,  who,  without  intrigue  or  any  soli- 
citation, had  raised  himself  to  the  first  eminence  in 
the  state,  had  been  made  one  of  the  censors  some 
time  before,  and  was  considered  as  the  head  of  that 
office,  was  military  tribune,  and  had,  in  his  post, 
gained  several  advantages  over  the  country ;  was 
called,  by  his  courage  and  abilities,  to  fill  those 
offices ;  who  took  that  second  Troy,  the  city  of 
Veii,  and  enriched  the  conquerors ;  also  routed  the 
Falisci,  and  took  their  capitol  city  Falerii.  Yet  by 
the  slanders  raised  against  him  by  the  turbulent 
tribunes,  (he  was  exiled)  such  as  of  being  an  op- 
poser  of  their  intended  migration  from  Rome  to 
Veii,  and  of  having  concealed  a  part  of  the  plun- 
der of  that  city,  particularly  two  brazen  gatos  for 


211 

his  own  use.  Camillus  detesting  their  ingrati- 
tude, took  leave  of  his  wife  and  children ;  he  had 
already  passed  as  far  as  one  of  the  gates,  unattend- 
ed on  his  way,  and  unlamented.  There  he  could 
suppress  his  indignation  no  longer,  but  turning  his 
face  to  the  capitol,  and  lifting  up  his  hands  to  hea- 
ven, intreated  all  the  Gods  that  his  country  might 
one  day  be  sensible  of  their,  injustice  and  ingrati- 
tude, and  so  saying  he  passed  forward  to  take  re- 
fuge at  Ardea.  The  tribunes  were  not  a  little 
pleased  wkh  their  triumph  over  this  great  man  ; 
but  they  soon  had  reason  to  repent  of  their  injus- 
tice and  wish  his  return,  for  now  a  more  terrible 
and  redoubtable  enemy  began  to  make  its  appear- 
ance than  the  Romans  had  ever  yet  encountered." 
But  yet,  after  all  their  slanders  and  ingratitude, 
when  the  Gauls,  from  beyond  the  Alps,  com- 
manded by  Brennus,  their  king,  had  taken  Rome, 
all  but  the  citadel,  for  the  ransom  of  which  they 
were  weighing  a  thousand  pounds  weight  of  gold, 
the  Gauls  fraudulently  attempting  to  kick  the  beam, 
of  which,  when  the  Romans  complained,  Brennus 
cast  his  sword  and  belt  igto  the  scale,  crying  out 
that  u  the  only  portion  of  the  vanquished  was  to 
suffer. "  At  that  moment  the  heroic  and  forgiving 
Camillus  entered  with  an  army,  "  upon  which  a 
battle  ensued,  wherein  the  Gauls  were  cut  to  pie- 
ces." Thus  acted  Camillus — proving  to  Rome, 
and  the  world,  the  murdering  consequences  of 
slander;  it  being  probable,  that  if  Camillus  had 
not  been  banished,  the  thousands  of  lives,  perhaps 
not  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand, 
might  have  been  saved,  who  were  lost  by  that  in- 
stance of  slander — and  so  on  throughout  the  world. 
"  Why  boastest  thou  thyself  in  mischief,  O 
mighty  man  ?  The  goodness  of  God  endureth  con- 
tinually ;  thy  tongue  deviseth  mischief  like  a  razor, 


212 

working  deceitfully  ;  thou  lovcst  evil  more  than 
good,  and  lying  rather  than  to  speak  righteousness  ; 
thou  lovest  all  devouring  words,  O  thou  deceitful 
tongue,  [or,  and  the  deceitful  tongue,  margin.] 
God  shall  likewise  destroy  thee  forever,  [or,  He- 
brew, beat  thee  down,  margin]  ;  he  shall  take  thee 
away,  and  pluck  thee  out  of  thy  dwelling  place, 
and  root  thee  out  of  the  land  of  the  living."  Psalm 
Hi.  "  When  thou  sawesta  (man)  thief,  then  thou 
consentedst  with  him  ;  thou  gavest  thy  mouth  to 
evil,  and  thy  tongue  frameth  deceit ;  thou  sittest 
and  speakcst  against  thy  brother,  thou  slanderest 
thine  own  mother's  son.  These  things  hast  thou 
done,  and  I  kept  silence  ;  thou  thoughtest  that  I 
was  altogether  such  a  one  as  thyself."  Psalm  1. 
That  is,  thou  thoughtest  when  thou  wast  so  very 
loud  and  censorious  any  where,  and  every  where 
against  vicious  persons,  that  slander  was  encoura- 
ged even  by  the  Deity,  for  the  detection  and  pun- 
ishment of  sinners  ;  "  but  I  will  reprove  thee,  and 
set  them  in  order  before  thine  eyes.  To  him  that 
ordereth  his  conversation  aright,  will  I  shew  the 
salvation  of  God." 

Slander  is  murder  in  disguise.  "  Thus  died 
Caius  Gracchus,  (saith  Goldsmith).  He  is  usually 
impeached  by  historians  as  guilty  of  sedition  ;  but 
from  what  we  see  of  his  character,  the  disturbance 
of  tranquility  was  rather  owing  to  his  opposers  than 
to  him  ;  so  that  instead  of  calling  the  tumults  at 
that  time  the  sedition  of  the  Gracchi,  we  should 
rather  call  them  the  sedition  of  the  senate  against 
the  Gracchi,  since  the  efforts  of  the  latter  were 
made  in  vindication  of  a  law  to  which  the  Senate 
had  assented.  Certain  it  is,  from  what  appears, 
that  all  justice  was  on  the  side  of  the  Gracchi,  and 
all  injury  on  that  of  the  senate."     The  slanders 


213 

which  were  raised  against  such  men,  were  murder 
aforethought. 

Three  Irishmen  were  said  to  have  been  em- 
ployed in  cutting  up  metal,  lately  in  England,  by 
two  persons,  who  immediately  went  and  informed 
upon  them  that  they  might  get  the  reward  offered 
by  government  to  informers  against  coiners,  (mur- 
derous offerings  to  spies.)  The  Irishmen  were 
taken  and  condemned  ;  but  it  having  appeared,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  that  they  were 
innocent,  and  as  they  did  not  know  but  that  they 
were  employed  legally,  they  were  liberated  and  re- 
warded for  their  sufferings  by  the  English,  and 
their  persecutors  put  in  their  places  to  suffer  for 
the  double  crime  of  coining  and  «tnurder  by  slan- 
der, of  malice  aforethought.  Which  leads  up  to 
the  spirit  of  this  subject,  namely  :  What  does  it 
matter  how  murder  of  malice  aforethought  is  com- 
mitted, whether  by  lead,  fire,  bemp,  or  steel,  or  by- 
slander,  uttered  by  words,  letters,  signs,  or  pic- 
tures, producing  enemies  to  an  individual,  stimib- 
lating  them  to  harrass  persons  to  kill  themselves, 
or  otherwise  exciting  the  community  to  shoot, 
stab,  poison,  burn,  or  prosecute  for  crimes  of 
which  the  accused  are  not  guilty  ?  This  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  enemies  of  God  and  religion 
always  stirred  persecution  against  Christianity ; 
and,  as  a  proof  of  it,  the  word  priestcraft,  with  a 
contumelious  voice,  and  a  sarcastically  pinched  up 
face,  is  the  stalking,  braying  jack  ass  of  every  un- 
believer, from  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Abad- 
don, to  the  iron,  dark,  vengeful,  age  of  Voltaire, 
D'Alembert,  Weishaup,  Diddero,  and  Paine. 

Indictment  for  receiving  stolen  goods,  that  is, 
stolen  reputations. 


214 

Virginia,  to  wit,  and  evert/  state  to  xvit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  Israel  and 
the  United  States,  upon  their  oath  present — That 
Lowbred  Cunning,  Lovemoney  Partiality,  Please  - 
lady  Chit  chat,  Coquette  Pittepat,  and  Stiff  Self- 
important,  late  of  the  parish  of  Corrupt  communi- 
cation, in  the  county  of  Religious  gossipping,  and 
Gospel  swindling,  being  persons  of  evil  name  and 
fame,  on  account  of  whispering,  and  dishonest 
backbiting  conversation,  and  common  buyers  and 
receivers  of  stolen  characters,  upon  all  occasions 
where  it  is  their  interest,  in  the  night  and  day  of 
the  same  every  favorable  opportunity,  with  force 
and  arms  of  cacklera,  punners,  whisperers,  letter 
writers,  cup  nodders,  devil's  pedlers,  he,  at  the 
said  every  place,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
church  and  state  where  such  things  ought  not  to 
be  in  any  wise  suffered,  fifty  thousand  good  names 
of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  every  person  of  which 
they  could  lay  hold,  by  certain  evil  disposed  per- 
sons, to  the  juggling  jurors  aforesaid,  yet  connived 
at,  and  always  known,  then,  lately  before  feloni- 
ously stolen  of  the  same  evil  disposed  persons,  un- 
lawfully, unjustly,  unscripturally,  and  for  wicked 
gain  of  money,  clothes,  meats,  drinks,  selfishness, 
ignorance,  religious  ambition,  and  revenge,  did  re- 
ceive and  have,  (they,  the  said  puckerers,  in  con- 
clave, well  knowing  the  said  characters  to  have 
been  stolen,  contrary  to  the  prophets,  the  Gospel, 
and  the  apostles)  to  the  great,  present,  and  eternal 
damage  of  millions  of  strangers  and  foreigners,  fa- 
therless and  widows,  talents  and  virtues,  and 
against  the  whole  tenor  of  revelation,  against  the 
forms  of  all  scriptural  systems  of  church  disci- 
pline, and  against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  all  well 
regulated  governments,  and  especially  against  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  these  United  States. 


215 

And  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath  aforesaid, 
do  further  present — That  Lazy  Listener,  Gauntlet 
Gabbler,  Evedrop  Evil,  Winkeyed  Watcher, 
Slowjaw'd  Sapper,  Gauzeback  Giggler,  Shuffle- 
board  Sunflower,  Weeping  hypocrite  Halfsoul, 
Telltale  Tareall,  Bend  Twist  and  Loud  Squall, 
Walloper  Whalebone,  Dry  Drowsy,  Grunt  Groan, 
with  a  host  of  liars,  swearers,  drunkards,  oppres- 
sors, gluttons,  shavers,  fops,  whifflers,  termagants, 
rainbows,  churls,  old  bachelors,  &x.  late  of  the 
parish  of  Swill  Tub,  Tea  Cup,  Feathery  Foppery, 
Church  Gossipping,  Pulpit  Slander,  Press  Libel, 
8cc.  in  the  county  of  Tongue  lash  aforesaid,  slan- 
derers ;  before  the  said  felony,  and  sly  backbiting 
murder  was  committed  in  form  aforesaid,  to  wit : 
on  all  occasions,  and  against  every  person  even 
their  "  own  mother's  sons"  in  the  years,  <  months, 
weeks,  days,  hours,  minutes,  and  seconds,  afore- 
said, did  feloniously  and  maliciously  incite,  move, 
procure,  aid,  and  abet,  by  all  kinds  of  slander,  the 
said  Listener,  Gabbler,  Evedropper,  Watcher, 
Slowjaw'd  Sappert  Giggler,  Shuffler,  ^Butterfly, 
Hypocrite  Halfsoul,  Telltale,  Loud  Squall,  &c.  to 
do  and  commit  the  said  felony,  treason,  and  mur- 
der, in  manner  and  form  aforesaid,  against  the 
peace  of  the  Lord  our  righteousness,  his  crown  and 
dignity. 

"  Titus  took  particular  care  (saith  Goldsmith) 
to  punish  all  informers,  false  witnesses,  and  pro- 
moters of  dissention.  Those  wretches,  who  had 
their  rise  in  the  licentiousness  and  impurity  of  for- 
mer reigns,  were  now  become  so  numerous  that 
their  crimes  called  loudly  for  punishment.  Of 
these^  therefore,  he  daily  made  public  examples, 
condemning  them  to  be  scourged  in  the  public 
streets,  next  to  be  dragged  through  all  the  theatres, 
and  then  to  be  banished  into  the  uninhabited  parts 


216 

of  the  empire,  or  sold  as  slaves."  Solomon  saith, 
u  He  that  winketh  with  his  eyes  causeth  sorrow, 
but  a  prating  fool  shall  fall.  It  is  as  sport  to  a  fool 
to  do  mischief;  he  that  uttereth  a  slander  is  a  fool. 
Prov.  x.  18,  23.  A  hypocrite  with  his  mouth 
destroyeth  his  neighbour.  Prov.  xi.  9.  There  is 
that  speaketh  like  the  piercings  of  a  sword.  Prov, 
xii.  18.  The  simple  beiieveth  every  word ;  he 
that  despiseth  his  neighbour  sinneth.  Prov.  xiv. 
15,  21.  An  ungodly  man  diggeth  up  evil :  and  in 
his  lips  there  is  a  burning  fire.  A  froward  man 
soweth  strife,  and  a  whisperer  separateth  chief 
friends.  Prov.  xvi.  27  28.  A  wicked  doer  giveth 
heed  to  false  lips,  and  a  liar  giveth  ear  to  a  naughty 
tongue.  Prov.  xvii.  4.  The  words  of  a  talebearer 
are  as  wounds,  (or  whisperer,  margin)  Prov.  xviii. 
8.  Death  and  life  are  in  the  power  of  the  tongue. 
verse  21.  Every  fool  will  be  meddling.  Prov. 
xx.  3.  Cast  out  the  scorner,  and  contention 
shall  go  out ;  yea,  strife  and  reproach  shall  cease. 
Prov.  xxii.  10.  The  froward  tongue  shall  be  cut 
out."  Prov.  x.  31. 

Indictment,  for  a  libel. 
Commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  dll  the  states,  to  wit : 

All  who  have  been  injured  complain  of  the  de- 
vil's letter  writers,  defendants  in  custody  of  con- 
science, the  Scriptures,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Church 
of  God,  and  the  constituted  authorities  for  the 
state ;  for  that,  whereas  the  said  plaintiffs  now  are 
good,  true,  honest,  faithful  and  credible  citizens  of 
the  commonwealth  of  the  church  and  the  state,  of 
and  from  the  time  of  their  birth  hitherto  have  been, 
and  behaved  themselves  as  good,  true,  honest, 
faithful,  and  credible  men,  and  have  been  account- 
ed, esteemed,  and  respected  amongst  good,  honest, 
and   prudent  men,  as  well  their  neighbours,  as 


217 

others,  citizens  of  the  said  commonwealth,  to  be 
of  a  good  name,  character,  honest  and  upright  be- 
haviour, and  credible  conversation,  and  have  all 
their  life  time  hitherto  lived  and  continued  un- 
touched and  unsuspected  of  the  atrocious  crimes 
of  which  they  are  accused  by  the  aforesaid  devil's 
letter  writers  ;  and  moreover,  allowing  them  even 
to  be  guilty,  men  are  not  to  be  suffered  to  revenge 
themselves  by  the  unjust,  unscriptural,  and  illegal 
course  of  libelling  or  otherwise  ;  nevertheless,  the 
said  defendants,  well  knowing  the  premises,  from 
their  not  being  willing  to  have  the  like  villainous 
and  murderous  severities  practised  among  them- 
selves, but  of  their  mere  malice  had  against  the 
plaintiffs,  contriving  and  maliciously  intending  not 
only  to  injure  and  detract  the  plaintiffs  in  their  good 
name,  character,  and  reputation,  or  otherwise  to 
sink  the  already  almost  broken  hearted  and  repent- 
ing unfortunates,  and  to  bring  them  into  miamy 
and  disgrace,  but  also  to  subject  them  to  undergo 
the  penalties  and  punishments  that  are  provided 
by  the  laws  of  the  said  commonwealth  for  persons 
guilty  of  perjury,  insurrection,  theft,  murder,  trea- 
son, &c.  on  every  favourable  opportunity,  in  the 
parish  and  county  aforesaid,  devised,  composed, 
made,  wrote,  and  published,  or  by  private  letters, 
and  afterwards,  to  wit :  January  1st,  February, 
March,  April,  May,  June,  July,  August,  Septem- 
ber, October,  November,  December,  o.'  and  con- 
cerning the  plaintiffs  certain,  false,  scandalous,  and 
malicious  libels,  containing  these  False,  probubk 
or  true,  scandalous,  malicious,  and  libellous  wo 
following,  that  is  to  say — To  the  editors,  Ike 
Mr.  and  Misses,  &c.  to  brother  and  sister,  &c. 
rev.  father,  elder,  deacon,  rev  bishop,  &c.  by  r 
son  of  which,  said  devising,  composing,  makii 

T 


218 

writing,  and  publishing  of  the  said  false,  probable 
or  true,  scandalous  libels,  containing  the  said  false 
or  true,  scandalous,  malicious,  and  libellous  words 
aforesaid,  of  and  concerning  the  plaintiffs,  they,  the 
said  plaintiffs,  are  not  only  greatly  hurt  and  dama- 
ged in  their  good  name,  fame  reputation,  lawful 
business,  &x.  but  also  in  their  persons,  property, 
and  souls,  in  time  and  eternity,  so  irreparable  are 
the  horrific  results  of  libelling.  Therefore,  the 
said  plaintiffs  say  they  are  injured,  and  have  sus- 
tained damage  to  the  value  of  more  than  all  the 
fortunes  of  thick  clay  contained  in  the  bowels  of 
Mexico  and  Peru,  more  than  life  itself,  even  the 
loss  of  life  eternal !  And,  therefore,  bring  suit  for 
character,  fortune,  liberty,  happiness,  life,  and  eter- 
nal glory.  Prophets,  and  apostles,  John  Doe,  and 
Richard  Roe  pledge  to  prosecute. 

The  universal  assent  and  applause  with  which 
those  words  of  a  great  poet  have  been  received, 
namely : 

"  Good  name,  in  man  or  woman, 

Is  the  immediate  jewel  of  their  souls  : 

Who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash. 

'Tis  something,  nothing, 

'Twas  mine,  'tis  his,  and  has  been  slave  to 

thousands ; 
But  he  that  filches  from  me  my  good  name, 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him, 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed.'3 

We  repeat,  that  the  universal  acceptance  of  the 
'>ove  words,  proves  that  man  is  ripe  here  for  the 
minal  punishment  of  slanderers,  by  a  fixed,  un- 
wed, defined  and  limited  code,  which,  in  its  first 
ade,  would  bring  the  vile  slanderer  under  the 
rview  of  the  statute,  punishing  with  death  those 
10  kill  of  malice  aforethought ;  the  second  to  the 


219 

penitentiary,  and  so  on  down  to  the  lowest  grade, 
by  a  proportional  ratio.  The  necessity  of  some- 
thing like  this  would  seem  to  be  requisite  to  curb 
the  baleful  breath  of  the  mouth  of  this  Orcus,  be- 
gotten  in  hell ;  not  that  we  would  prevent  the  can- 
vassing of  "  the  conduct  and  character  of  our  pub- 
lic agents,"  who  are  declared  to  be  the  "  guar- 
dians and  trustees  of  the  people  ;"  but,  as  judge 
Blackstone  saith,  "  It  requires  such  a  degree  of 
passive  valour  to  combat  the  dread  of  undeserved 
contempt,  arising  from  the  false  notions  of  honour 
too  generally  received,  that  the  strongest  prohibi- 
tions and  penalties  of  the  law  will  never  be  entire- 
ly effectual  to  eradicate  this  unhappy  custom  (of 
duelling)  till  a  method  be  found  out  of  compelling 
the  original  aggressor  to  make  some  other  satisfac- 
tion to' the  affronted  party,  which  the  world  shall 
esteem  equally  reputable  as  that  which  is  now  gi- 
ven at  the  hazard  of  the  life  and  fortune." — 4th 
Blackstone,  199. 

Now  what  satisfaction,  first,  does  the  "  affronted 
party"  require?  Certainly  a  just  one,  namely — 
That  in  proportion  as  he  intended  to  injure  me,  or 
had  injured  me,  so  he  should  be  punished  ;  which, 
to  calculate  the  eternal  effects  of  slander,  would  not 
be  compensated  by  as  much  servitude  in  the  peni- 
tentiary as  a  man  would  have  to  suffer  for  house 
burning,  it  being  evident  that  you  may  calculate 
the  loss  of  a  house,  horse,  purse,  or  ship,  but  not 
of  reputation,  (for  it  is  at  risk  in  the  circle  of  per- 
petual motion)  though  it  was  almost  gone,  when  it 
might  be  retrieved  again,  like  that  of  Mary  Mag- 
dalene, to  whom  our  Lord  first  appeared  after  his 
-resurrection.  Don't  reply  by  observing,  that  the 
great  obloquy  of  the  penitentiary  would  be  too  ex- 
cessive for  the  all-devouring  slanderer,  who  has  al- 
ready sunk  whole  families  in  irreparable  cor"?  ^?lv 


220 

and  whose  copper  head  and  tongue  distil  rivers  of 
poisonous  verdigris,  enough  to  gangrene  a  world ! 
Secondly,  what  would  "  the  world  esteem  equally 
reputable  ?"  Answer.  Not  revenge  ;  which  always 
is  excessive  in  its  penalties,  always  is  anarchy  and 
rebellion  against  God,  who  saitn  "  vengeance  is 
mine,"  I  will  repay  !  How,  then,  may  he  repay  ? 
Certainly  by  the  constituted  authorities,  by  the 
people,  their  representatives,  their  triers,  judges, 
&c.  by  enacting  a  climax  of  statute  laws,  with  their 
penalties  and  punishments,  adequate  to  the  crimes 
and  criminal  intentions  of  the  original  slanderer, 
and  his  or  her.  coadjutors,  which,  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  distributive,  remunerative  justice,  would  be 
also  according  to  the  perfection  of  rational,  impar- 
tial, political  justice,  securing  the  constitution, 
without  licensing  the  tongue  and  pen  in  malice 
and  murder,  against  private  individuals.  As  for 
public  authorities,  we  may,  according  to  the  de- 
clared opinion  of  the  general  court  held  in  Rich- 
mond,  1811,  libel  them  ;  but  yet,  only  so  as  that 
any  libellous  matter  which  goes  to  prove  any 
thing  but  the  incapability  of  officers  to  fill  and  ful- 
fil their  places  and  duties,  u  cannot  be  justified  be- 
cause it  is  true."  And  we  may  add,  that  as  "  all 
punishments  (as Blackslone  saith)  inflicted  by  tem- 
poral laws,  may  be  classed  under  three  heads,  such 
as  tend  to  the  amendment  of  the  offender  himself, 
or  to  deprive  him  of  any  power  to  do  future  mis- 
chief, or  to  deter  others  by  his  example  :  all  of 
which  conduce  to  one  and  the  same -end,  of  pre- 
venting future  crimes,  whether  that  be  affected  by 
amendment,  disability,  or  example."  We  say 
that  as  all  human  punishments  have  these  ends  in 
view,  would  it  not  be  adviseable  that  preventive 
justice,  which  "  consists  in  obliging  those,  persons 
whom  there  is  a  certain  and  probable  ground  to 


221 

suspect  of  future  slandering  misbehaviour,  to  stip- 
ulate with,  and  to  give  full  assurance  to  the  public 
(as  Black  stone  saith  of  offences  in  general)  that 
such  offence  as  is  apprehended  shall  not  happen, 
by  finding  pledges  or  securities  for  keeping  the 
peace,  or  for  their  good  behaviour."  This  "  re- 
quisition of  sureties,"  binding  the  slander's 
tongue,  which  "  is  set  on  fire  of  hell,"  would  be  as 
necessary  and  just,  as  binding  the  hands,  pistols, 
poignards,  and  haltars  of  other  assassins,  with  this 
difference,  namely,  that  as  water,  fire,  and  steam 
are  to  machines,  so  is  slander  to  other  crimes  ;  it 
is  often  their  father  and  mother's  cause,  and  ought 
also  to  be  restrained  by  preventive  justice.  It  be- 
ing worse  than  fire,  water,  and  air,  which  elements 
are  sometimes  apparently  dormant,  but  slander  is 
the  perpetual  motion  of  implacability,  envy,  hatred, 
and  revenge,  "  invective,  assault,  ruin,  and  death," 
even  death  eternal  !  Slander,  slavery,  and  shaving, 
are  the  devil's  three  universal  roasting  hooks;  they 
are  the  three  strands  of  his  sordid,  avaricious  ca- 
ble, pitched  with  adamant,  and  moored  in  hell  to 
his  sheet  anchor,  pride,  unbelief,  lies,  and  murder, 
with  a  crew  of  Heathens,  Mahometans,  Jews,  and 
Christians,  pontiffs,  priests,  Levites,  bishops,  dea- 
cons, elders,  &c.  with  springs  upon  their  cables, 
colours  flying,  trumpets  sounding,  psalms  and 
hymns  singing,  Christ  crucified  preaching,  Mosaic, 
Heathen,  Christian  and  political  institutions  plead- 
ing, as  Lucifer's  artillery  playing  upon  the  poor. 

Indictment  for  felony,  in  hiring  or  persuading 
another  to  burn  a  character  as  a  house. 
Commonwealth  of  Israel^  to  wit : 

The  jurors  for  the  commonwealth  of  all  flesh, 
upon  their  oath  present — That  Combustible  Am* 

I  2 


222 

bilious,  Tight  purse  Avaricious,  Slow  jaw'd  Ma- 
licious, and  Spit  fire  Vicious,  late  of  the  parish  of 
Malice  and  revenge,  in  the  county  of  a  World  of 
heli  fire,  incendiaries  ;  not  having  the  fear  of  God 
before  their  eves,  but  being  moved  and  seduced  by 
the  instigation  of  the  devil,  the  father  of  lies,  and 
all  scandals  to  be  rash,  harsh  and  uncharitable  ill 
their  judgments,  either  thinking  evil  where  no  evil 
seems,  and  speaking  of  it  accordingly,  or  adding 
evil  motives  to  undesigning  actions,  oppressing 
the  stranger,  fatherless,  orphan,  and  widow,  who, 
having  gone  astray,  are  already  sinking  under  a 
load  of  guilt  and  infamy,  but,  like  the  poor  stran- 
ger, who  fell  among  thieves,  who  have  wounded, 
stripped,  and  maimed  him,  who  is  waiting  for  a 
good,  still  tongued  Samaratin  to  bind  up  his 
wounds,  when  a  hard  hearted  priest,  and  an  insen- 
sible Levite,  and  a  groupe  of  double  distilled  cack- 
lers,  have  passed  him  by  ;  we  say,  that  while  the 
aforesaid  innocent,  or  repenting  and  returning  sons 
and  daughters  of  distress  were  struggling  against 
wind  and  tide  to  make  the  land  of  holiness,  to  the 
Lord,  and  good  to  society,  they,  the  aforesaid  im- 
placable and  unmerciful,  sly,  peeping,  whispering, 
bribing,  and  being  bribed  slanderers,  did,  upon 
every  favourable  opportunity,  in  the  dark  and  black 
night  of  supplanting,  hatred,  envy,  evil  speaking, 
and  revenge,  with  the  force  of  money,  meats, 
drinks,  clothes,  nonors,  &c.  (as  we  say  in  the  or- 
dinary form  of  a  legal  indictment,  u  with  force  and 
arms")  in  the  parish  and  county  aforesaid,  feloni- 
ously, maliciously,  unlawfully,  and  willingly,  did 
counsel,  hire,  and  command  all  their  negro  slaves, 
and  ever  person,  poor  or  rich,  who  could  be 
brought  into  the  vortex  of  their  all-devouring  fire 
of  defamation,  and  persons  too,  baptised  either  in 
infancy  or  adult  age,  in  the  name  of  the  Holy 


223 

Trinity,  of  consequence,  pledged  to  love  their 
neighbour  as  themselves.  Moreover,  they  were 
also  born  again  upon  the  mountains  of  division,  and 
re- baptised  in  the  waters  of  strife  ;  and  they  were 
always  known  by  the  names  of  Sawney  Slanderer, 
Alligator  Allbribe,  Bespatter  Browbeat,  Calumni- 
ator Cnp  cackle;  David  Dollar,  Ear  Listener,  Fa- 
ther Firebrand,  George  Gabble,  Henry  Harsh- 
tongue,  Isaac  Idle,  Catharine  Kettledrum,  Lucv 
Liar,  Mary  Meddle,  Nelson  Noteall,  Oliver  Oho"! 
Parson  Pompous  Pumpall,  Questionasking  Qu lit- 
er, Robert  Raspish,  Sally  Sipskip,  Thomas  Tale- 
bearer, Uriah  Unruly,  Vain  Vagrant,  Wiley 
Watcher,  Xenophon  Xanthus,  (Harpy  Blabberer  j 
Yawning  Yelper,  Zantippe  Zigzag,  &c.  all  of  the 
parish  and  county  of  Combustible  hell  fire,  and  a 
world  of  iniquity,  twenty  thousand  good,  better 
and  best  characters,  the  property  of  the  owners 
thereof,  such  as  prophets,  priests,  apostles,  Jesus 
Christ,  and  all  good  men  in  and  out  of  the  church, 
Moses  and  Aaro'u,  the  Fathers,  such  as  Polycarp, 
Ignatius,  Tertullian,  Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  Gre- 
gory Nazianzen,  &c.  good  Catholics  and  reform- 
ers, Thomas  a  Kempis,  Gregory  Lopez,  the  Wes- 
leys,  YYhitefield,  and  their  followers;  fathers,  pa- 
triots, and  friends  of  mankind,  such  as  Washing- 
ton, Jefferson,  Adams,  Madison,  and  Monroe,  in- 
nocent girls,  boys,  and  children,  affectionately 
united,  happily  married  couples,  strangers,  preach- 
ers, fatherless,  widows,  and  orphans  ;  also  an  host 
of  rising,  reforming,  and  repenting  females,  males, 
&x.  in  the  parish  and  county  of  a  world  of  hot 
burning  slander,  where  they,  the  said  backbiters 
as  aforesaid,  feloniously,  maliciously  and  unlaw- 
fully did  counsel,  hire,  and  command  all,  both 
bond  and  free,  male  and  female,  small  and  great, 
within  their  influence  to  set  lire  to  the  characters 


224 

as  aforesaid,  (as  3011  would  say  in  an  indictment  to 
a  jail,  a  courthouse,  a  barn,  a  stable,  and  twenty 
dwelling  houses)  and  the  same  thousands  of  repu- 
tations then  and  there,  by  such  defamatory  firing, 
as  aforesaid,  feloniously,  maliciously,  inconsider- 
ately, unlawfully,  and  unscripturally  to  burn  and 
consume  with  fire  brought  from  hell,  intended  for 
the  destruction  of  mankind,  circulated  at  the  insti- 
gation of  corrupters,  by  preachers,  statesmen,  mer- 
chants, lawyers,  mechanics,  would-be  called  la- 
dies and  gentlemen,  fine,  well  bred  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, would-be  called  Christians,  and  would-be 
called  moralists,  by  whispers,  letters,  bribes,  and 
honors,  in  the  pulpit  and  out  of  it,  in  and  out  of 
the  temple  of  justice,  and  the  ark  of  state,  by  nods, 
winks,  and  shrugs,  by  puffing,  blowing,  grinning, 
tossing  up  the  face,  turning  up  the  white  of  the 
eyes,  praying  '  Lord  pity  them,  I  wish  them  well,' 
yet  they  stab  them  under  the  fifth  rib.  And  all 
these  villainies  were  practised  under  the  lying  and 
malicious  excuses  of  church,  public,  and  private 
g(  od ;  against  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture,  but 
especially  the  law  of  love. 

When  king  David  asked  Ziba,  the  servant  of 
Mephibosheth,  Where  is  thy  master's  son?  2  Sam* 
xvi.  3,  4,  and  Ziba  said  unto  the  king,  behold  he 
abideth  at  Jerusalem  ;  for  he  said,  to  day  shall  the 
house  of  Israel  restore  me  the  kingdom  of  my  fa- 
ther. Then  said  the  king  (raslily)  to  Ziba,  behold 
thine  are  all  that  pertaineth  to  Mephibosheth.  Ziba, 
(like  a  slandering  sycophant,  replied)  I  humbly  be- 
seech thee  that  I  may  find  grace  in  thy  sight,  my  lord, 
O  king  ;"  just  as  our  modern  state  and  church  lick- 
plates  do.  But  when  David  asked  Mephibosheth, 
"  Wherefore  wentest  thou  not  with  me  ;"  he  an- 
swered (trembling)  "  My  Lord,  O  king,  my  ser- 
vant deceived  me ;  for  thy  servant  said,  I  will  sad- 


225 

die  mine  ass,  that  I  may  ride  thereon,  and  go  to 
the  king,  because  thy  servant  is  lame.  And  he 
hath  slandered  thy  servant  unto  my  lord  the  king." 
2  Sam,  xix.  25,  26,  27.  Thus  will  all  flatterers 
supplant,  and  thus  are  they,  thus  have  they  been, 
and  thus  shall  they  be,  until  checked,  in  full  proof 
of  my  position,  that  slanderers  are  murderers  of 
malice  prepense,  intending  the  death  of  the  objects 
of  their  malevolence.  Here  was  a  case  of  slander 
going  to  the  confiscation  of  all  the  possessions  that 
belonged  to  Mephiboshcth,  of  the  outlawing  and 
death  of  that  righteous  man,  were  it  not  for  the 
justice  and  generosity  of  king  David.  Doeg,  the 
Edomite,  by  telling  the  truth  to  Saul  upon  Abim- 
elech,  the  priest,  was  the  cause  of  the  death  of  four 
score  and  five  persons  that  did  wear  a  linen  ephod. 
1  Sam.  xxii ;  and  also  the  destruction  of  Nob,  the 
city  of  tfee  priests,  Wherein  men,  women,  children, 
and  sucklings,  oxen,  and  asses,  and  sheep,  were 
all  cut  off  by  Saul  with  the  tc\ge  of  the  sword. 
This  was  occasioned  by  an  old  grudge  between 
Doeg's  ancestors  and  those  of  Jacob,  for  Doeg  was 
descended  of  Esau,  and  glad  of  any  excuse  to  ex- 
terminate a  Jew,  and  this  very  national  prejudice 
is  still  amongst  us  a  bone  of  calumny,  and  an  ar- 
row of  death. 

Saul  also  being  ambitious  and  envious,  could  in 
no  wise  bear  that  the  son  of  Jesse  should  wrest  the 
palm  of  victory,  the  songs  of  the  women,  and  pro- 
bably the  kingdom,  from  his  family  by  mere  merit, 
although  Saul  himself  was  not  descended  of  any 
better  stock  than  David,  yet  he  tauntingly  called 
him  "  the  son  of  Jesse,  the  Bethelemite,"  like 
many  of  our  aristocratical,  high  toned  citizens  of 
all  ages,  of  the  well  born  stock  of  upstarts,  some 
of  whom,  and  of  whose  posterity  can  boast  of  fallen 
fortunes,  rich  ancestors,  stiff  necks,  proud  hearts, 


226 

full  breasts,  empty  stomachs,  fallen  houses,  a  few 
relics  of  gardens,  mouldering  chimnies,  starved 
horses  and  negroes,  and  double  distilled  pride,  iii 
poverty  and  rags,  but  not  of  true  public  spirit. 

Ahasuerus,  who  reigned  from  India  to  Ethiopia, 
over  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  provinces, 
made  a  drunken  feast  for  seven  days,  in  the  palace 
of  Shushan,  to  which,  contrary  to  the  delicacy  of 
the  queen,  and  of  the  usage  of  Persia,  he  com- 
manded his  seven  chamberlains,  Mehuman,  Bez- 
tha,  Harbona,  Bigtha,  Abagtha,  Zethar,  and  Car- 
cas,  to  bring  Vashti  before  him,  the  princes,  and 
the  people,  to  shew  them  her  beauty,  which,  when 
she  refused,  the  king  called  Carshena,  Shethar, 
Admatha,  Tarshish,  Meres,  Marsena,  and  Memu- 
can,  the  seven  princes  of  Persia  and  Media,  and 
said,  What  shall  we  do  unto  the  queen  Vashti  ? 
And  Memucan  answered,  Let  the  king  give  her 
royal  estate  to  another.  Esther  i.  Thousands  of 
such  advices  are  given,  taken,  and  acted  upon  by 
the  great  of  every  nation,  between  man  and  wife, 
in  which  cases  hardly  one  in  a  thousand  is  suffi- 
ciently redressed  for  the  wrongs  hereby  received  ; 
which  proves  that  the  power  to  injure  by  the 
tongue  and  pen  being  too  great  for  the  restraint  and 
punishment  of  the  slanderer,  they  are  hereby  a  li- 
censed set  of  murderers,  man  stealers,  and  swind- 
lers, with  this  difference,  that  when  a  man  sues  for 
his  character,  the  backbiter  may  now  and  then  find 
him  guilty  of  having  stolen  a  hog,  horse,  or  sheep, 
though,  in  other  respects,  he  may  have  been  a  good 
-man  ;  while  the  slanderer,  who  steals  and  murders 
men,  comes  off  with  flying  colors,  the  jury  not 
considering  that  malice,  and  not  public  spirit,  that 
covetousness,  envy,  ambition,  and  revenge,  and 
not  justice,  mercy,  or  reformation,  is  the  object  of 


227 

him,  who,  although  accuser,  although  justified  and 
honored  in  his  slandering  and  malicious  prosecu- 
tion, is  as  much  more  guilty  than  the  man  he  ac- 
cuses, as  a  ton  is  heavier  than  a  scruple  !  ! 

u  And  when  Haman  saw  that  Mofdecai  bowed 
not,  nor  did  him  reverence,  then  was  Haman  full 
of  wrath  ;  and  Haman  said  unto  king  Ahasuerus, 
There  is  a  certain  people  scattered  abroad  and  dis- 
persed among  the  people  in  all  the  provinces  of  thy 
kingdom,  and  their  laws  are  diverse  from  all  peo- 
ple, neither  keep  they  the  king's  laws  ;  therefore,  it 
is  not  for  the  king's  profit  to  suffer  them.  And  the 
king  said,  do  with  them  as  it  seemeth  good  to 
thee,"  Esther  hi.  (See  how  a  court  deputy  can 
use  a  foreigner — take  care  there.)  The  consequence 
was  that  an  unalterable  decree,  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  issued  from  Aha- 
suerus, for  the  utter  extermination  of  the  whole 
race  of  the  Jews.  What  will  not  men  do,  when 
having  obtained  power,  they  are  stirred  up  against 
those  who  will  not  bow  to  them  ?  But  God,  who 
hath  said  good  measure  will  men  give  into  your 
bosom,  caused  the  hurricane  to  change  its  quarter, 
for  the  king  gave  orders  to  the  governors  of  the 
provinces,  from  India  to  Ethiopia,  being  a  hundred 
and  twenty  seven  provinces,  and  to  the  Jews,  the 
result  of  which  was,  that  the  enemies  of  the  Jews 
were  slain  upon  that  very  thirteenth  of  the  month 
Adar,  the  day  whereon  Haman  (who  was  also  slain) 
was  to  have  massacred  the  Hebrews.  (Take  care 
how  you  abuse  black  and  white  foreigners. )  Now, 
as  all  this  blood  was  shed  in  consequence  of  slan- 
der, it  is  another  instance  in  full  proof  of  all  we 
contend  for,  namely — That  as  slanderers  are  often 
murderers ;  such  of  them  as  are  guilty  of  those 
high  degrees  thereof,  as  to  intend  and  produce 


£28 

thereby  the  murder  of  their  brethren  by  slandc 
of  malice  aforethought,  they  certainly  ought  to  be 
hanged,  as  well  as  those  who  stab,  shoot,  or  poison 
to  death,  or  otherwise  kill  of  malice  prepense  ;  and 
as  this  cannot  be  done  by  a  jury  without  a  statute 
law,  of  which  the  jury  and  court  are  to  judge,  so 
as  to  bring  the  culprit  under  its  purview,  if  guilty. 
An  improvement  in  the  judiciary,  by  a  law  to  such 
a  purpose,  would  be  considered  as  necessary,  that 
the  slandering  man  thief  and  murderer  might  not 
be  suffered  to  go  on  in  making  our  country  an  acel- 
dema — nevertheless,  so  as  not  to  affect  the  trial  by 
jury,  nor  to  abridge  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of 
the  press,  but  leaving  both  open  to  give  the  people 
information  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  their 
public  agents,  the  guardians  and  trustees  of  their 
constituents. 


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